Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso
by ngrey651
Summary: Blood Sport. A cruel and sadistic competition in which Irkens, Vortians and other beings compete for the Empire's amusement. One heroic communication officer is determined to end it, but he has no idea the forces lurking in the background...
1. Blood Sport: Prologue

**Author's Note:**

**Well, after much ado, I've good news. I can put this story back up. AND I'm gonna be putting it up on Deviantart as well for others to enjoy. Credit will once again go to the respective owners who so kindly gave me permission to use their characters and who helped me to refine this story.  
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**BLOOD SPORT: INFERNO, PURGATORIO, PARADISO  
_Prologue_**

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_I do not claim nor do I seek to be great. I seek only to be __Good__, and I truly believe that is the greatest thing that any living being can ever become._

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She had curled horns like all Vortians. Grey, rather hard skin. Spring-like legs and a dark blue shirt with shorts of pale blue, and the most vibrant pink eyes in all the world.

This was May Nar.

"I missed you so much." Nick said, hugging her body closely to his own.

"I missed YOU so much!" She cooed back.

This was Nick's wife.

"Get a room." One Irken with a thick accent mumbled. They decided to do just that and slunk off into the women's bathroom. Seeing the entrance of a couple, all the girls within the bathroom looked at each other, giggled a little, then decided to let the "kids have some alone time".

"Oh, how long has it been?"

"Hours…at least."

Their lips began to find each other, and they started kissing passionately. SMMK. SMMK. **SMMMMMKKKHHH.**

"I love you!"

"I love you more!"

"I love YOU more!"

"I…uh, you first, or me?" Nick asked, breaking the kiss.

"I dinged the ship. How about you?"

"I punched out Invader Larb again. He made the whole "Blind Date" joke with Darth again."

"So…you won't…REALLY do it, right?" May asked, a non-existent eyebrow raised up on her features.

"No, of course not." Nick said gently, caressing her cheek. "I wouldn't do that to somebody good. Tiara is innocent."

"Good." She smiled and stepped back from him, sitting on a nearby sink. "So so far, so good?"

"Definitely. You've been keeping track of the other contestants, right?" He asked, raising a non-existent eyebrow of his own, looking curious as he pulled down his "mouth mask" on the lower region of his face to smile slightly at her.

"Bo and Ian and I are all part of the betting procedures on Vort, so we know about who's won." May said with a hint of pride, waving a hand in the air. She then pulled out a small, square-shaped thing that glittered slightly in the light, black and sleek. She tapped the center and a small hologram appeared in mid-air, displaying one contestant after another. All of them had been entered into Blood Sport or had entered of their own free will. Some for good reasons, others bad.

Nick looked over the contestants. He felt sad as he gazed at many of them. He'd seen a few of these faces at the Jungle zone. He'd stayed on the planet longer than the others just so he could give the losers a decent burial and proper respects…he knew the faces he was looking at would never get to see their goals through…and not all had been evil. It was too cruel…it truly was.

He looked over them, one at time. As senior communications officer of the Massive, he had access to information that many others didn't. He knew things. And more importantly, he had a psychic friend who knew what he didn't. Hopes…fears…dreams…

This first one. Nixus. Downright awful how she'd ended up in Blood Sport. She was a friggin' WAITRESS for Christ's sake. And chosen randomly by the committee. From the reports he'd looked over, she'd been nabbed up by a forceful probe and drugged. Scumbags. He made a mental note to do a little something about them the next time the committee wanted to make a communications call. Perhaps, say, put their most insulting words on a tape, play the tape for the Tallest to make it seem like a real call, and watch as Red and Purple "solve infernis'd" on whatever building the-

No. That's not the right thing. What had been done to Nixus was sick, but you don't cure what's sick by doing something even worse.

Then there was Vyp. She had entered willingly. Spirited. A touch of spunkiness was what she brought to the competition. She could also turn cannibalistic…there was a lot of that going around in the competition. Nick shivered. She had beautiful eyes, yes…but still…a cannibal. It wasn't ALL her fault, she hadn't wanted to get infected with that virus, but what was to be done?

Myo. Oh, poor Myo. She was a sweet, nice little girl. A smeet, really. And she had such a cute outfit too! She'd been implanted with a set of wings as a personal gift by Tallest Red and Purple because apparently she'd done them an ENORMOUS favor at one point. He suspected it had something to do with saving them from choking on a snacky cake, most likely.

Dybbuk in contrast was not nice. She was an assassin, born and bred. She was used to killing and had come close to being executed herself. But from what he'd read of transcripts at her Irken Existence Evaluation, she'd narrowly escaped death due to Tallest Purple's caprice. He'd been disgusted to learn how many people she'd killed, but at least she had a thing against killing kids. But…Myo…

He shook his head. Next up was Nyrhtak. His outfit was downright sleek and stylish. The term "Ninja" sprang to Nick's mind as he looked this Irken over. With his mask, he was relentless and brave, even cold-hearted. Without it, he was timid, even cowardly…he even STUTTERED, from what Darth had learned. He had a "history". Nick had not asked what he'd done to get the Empire mad at him. If he ever met Nyrhtak, he'd ask nicely.

Rasmund. Oooooh. This Irken sent shivers down Nick's spine. He was a respected professor, but also "Batshit insane" as Darth had informed him. One tiny peek into the man's mind…one peek too many. He wasn't physically strong at all, in fact, he might be called a "99 pound weakling", but like Scarecrow with his fear gas, his psychological tactics were enough to make Psycho Mantis want to take notes. Nick however, felt sorry for him. He was insane, like some other members in the competition. They didn't know any better.

Neon. Another insane Irken. Also, at one point, a respectable man of science. Now he was a cannibalistic-leaning, psychopathic, crazy-claw-wielding beast. He had slaughtered anybody who got on his bad side…and as for the people who'd been about to escort him to Blood Sport? Way dead. Nick shook his head. Another sick person…what kind of thoughts went through that thing that had once been a person's head?

Rayna. Pretty eyes and an interesting rumor about her. Nick hoped it wasn't true. ANOTHER blood-drinker?! She looked like an angel, walked like an angel, talked like an angel…but she was a devil in disguise if the rumor was true! Still, he knew she had a deep love for her family…that he respected.

Karma. What an interesting name for an interesting competitor. She was well-trained in martial arts, and had a pretty body, a nice apartment in the city…and from the news reports, she'd done a bad job at murdering Ivan Kire, wealthy CEO of, interestingly, a same company that did much to sponsor Blood Sport…which she'd joined up to clean her slate. She seemed pretty "normal", actually. Nick felt bad for her. Most murderers…MOST…were usually nice people who made one terrible mistake, the murder of another being. Other than that act, they usually were rather agreeable folks. Karma seemed to exemplify this. Nice girl. Just made a big, bloody mistake.

Cas. A male defective who'd gone missing for quite a long time according to the records. But he'd learned something good about Cas…he hated what the Empire was, what it did, the cruelty it caused. He understood to that if the Irken race didn't change…that was it for all of them, one way or another. He wasn't a bad guy, he was considerate and his goal was noble. He didn't even seem to like killing, he only did it to move towards the goal of destroying the Empire…Nick hoped he'd never have to fight him.

Keena. Quiet girl. Kinda shy, slightly hesitant. From what Nick had heard from Sue, who'd done some "girl talk", Keena had had her PAK…tinkered with. A stolen program had been put into the PAK, and the one who'd stolen it and placed it inside the PAK had been arrested. She was fighting for his sake…love. God almighty, she was doing it for love. He couldn't stop love.

Core. Now this guy had some issues. All the reports said the same words. Unorthodox in humor. Vulgar. Cocky. Rash. Stubborn. And "Ridiculously obsessed with anything sexy". Dammit…everyone kept saying Nick had beautifully cute eyes. Combined with his really round head, he looked like some plush toy that people wanted to pick up and squeeze. Core had been a rogue for 50 years though…he was NOT a pushover, and his PAK was custom made. Nick hoped he wouldn't have to fight Core, not because he was afraid of the Irken's dangerous hidden weapons, but because he was a prude when it came to sex.

Kam, an Irken with an unusual attribute…attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. She was homicidal, liked sharp and shiny things (especially if she could stab people with them) and was thrown out of the army for stabbing an officer in the eye. She'd been exiled to a planet filled with man-eating plants but had survived and was now on the run. Sue had told him that Kam was ticklish. That was cute, Nick thought, smiling slightly. He'd remember that.

Shojah. The Vortian was a behemoth, a dangerous murdering cannibal and, interestingly, had a wife and kids. Nick felt bad about that. Honestly he had SOME good in him, he had a thing about hurting kids and yet…he seemed so frightening and dark. Darth had informed him that "this is one to watch for, there's more to him than meets the eye". He seemed strong, powerful, and had very dangerous weapons. But…was it all his fault? It seemed he was experimented on…hmm.

Oh boy. Regulus. Reg. Nick KNEW him. This was an Irken that had, at one point, been Trik and Darth's best friend. They'd been a triumverate of powerful "defectives" who'd put their skills to use for the empire. The only problem was that their was something twistedly cruel about Reg. He was xenophobic, malicious and nasty. Furthermore, there was something odd about his blood. It BURNT. Like ACID. And the man was a perverted sexual deviant too who thought of sex as a way to assert dominance over the weak.

Riza. She was persistent and her mind couldn't handle failure of any kind. It drove her insane. She wasn't good with guns from what the reports on her tests said, but her swordsmanship skills were off the charts! She was a defective who had once tried to overthrow the Tallest, but she'd failed and had been forcibly entered in Blood Sport. If she lost…her daughter would die. Nick felt sympathy fill his heart as he looked at her. He didn't agree with her methods, but he felt sorry for her daughter. He made a mental note to try and get his friends to track the little one down.

The next competitor was named Ziik, a short but very smart Irken Mechanical Scientist. He was a friggin' genius with PAK technology and apparently had a biting personality, a person who preferred their love online, thinkin' they were doin' fine, though they were just plugged into the wall. His force field technology was outstanding, Nick noted. But his body looked so…sickly. Nick felt nervous looking at him. He worried that if another competitor didn't kill him, his heart might just give out…a "Simon Birch" deal.

Kei was the next fighter, a female Irken who was supposed to be sadistic and moody, who really, REALLY liked the green stuff…by which I mean money. Gold, jewels...all that glittered was good to her. She was a mercenary-type through and through, and usually liked wearing rings on her body. Hmm. Nice touch, but still, she seemed REALLY mean. Anybody so obsessed with money had to be watched…who knew which way they'd tip in the end. Still, he'd have to meet her to get a good bead on her.

Norge was the next one to get his attention. He was an "unfeeling bastard" and apparently a racist who hated Vortians with a passion…or rather, ANY race that wasn't Irken. Hoo boy. Apparently he'd been experimented on by an Vortian scientist…that would have made Nick pissed too. No wonder he was so-cold-hearted. He was taken as a little **SMEET.** Poor thing…

Mir might have looked young, but she was actually a dictator who was a fierce "Bible-Beating, DIE HEATHEN" type of Christian. She believed that anybody who didn't agree with her deserved to burn…and she usually did the burning, according to Darth, who'd tried to engage her on an ethical/religious discussion. Luckily he'd gotten away before she could get out the holy water balloons. He wondered if he should ever meet her at all…he wanted to know if it was true that she'd memorized the entire Bible.

Saik…had he heard of her bef-oh, yes! Slightly insane, said to be teetering on the brink of utter madness. She despised the military, had SHE been the one to mail that general his wife's head, he wondered. He had heard she'd been abused as a little one, and after being almost killed in battle, what little sanity she had left was now under constant pressure. She didn't believe in a "fair fight". Fine. He fought dirty too…but hey, he'd tell her that before throwing dirt in her eyes.

Q Boks was an interesting being. A Vortian with many scars on his wizened face, his right eye had been permanently destroyed and scarred from a whip. He hated the Irken Empire and wore a stylish tuxedo, making Nick think instantly of Bond. Heh. Boks. **Q Boks.** He wondered if the Vortian would get the reference if he ever tried it out. Maybe. Vortians liked humans a bit more than Irkens did, and Boks seemed to be an honorable chap. Nick made a mental note to never mention the word "Goat" to this guy. Vortians went **INSANE** if you called them goats.

The next fighter was known as "Stef". Stef had multiple personality disorder, but…it was an unusual kind from what the army reports had said. They took over whenever he fell in and out of consciousness. The personality called "Dave" was what Nick had to be most wary of. Danny was a nymphomaniac, creepy, and Denzel was paranoid, but Dave was supposed to be an absolute monster. Nick thought back to his own brother…also named Dave. He sighed. If only his brother knew what he was doing now…

Lox. Heh. Funny name. He was a con artist, cold-hearted and clever who didn't give a damn about nobody but himself. Fast and alert, Lox seemed to have stolen a buttload of powerful weaponry, and even had skills in invisibility. That made him verrrry dangerous. But from what Sue had told him, he had an intense fear of death…and a poor knowledge of physics or chemistry. More importantly, he was an illusion-worker. That meant he was essentially a big phony underneath all the fancy gimmicks. But, then again, Nick LIKED magicians.

Deithar…well, well, well. He'd heard about what he'd done. He'd accidentally killed somebody…and now his only hope was to be redeemed in Blood…Sport. Poor guy. He was from a race of "Fallen Irkens", and therefore people already doubted his honesty. Most of the time he was a nice, sweet guy, but Nick had heard whispers of a dark personality hiding deep inside…

Miki. Oh, oh, oh. Poor little thing. She was so young. She was only half Irken, the other half was Andoran blood. She was a street rat taken off the streets by somebody who sought to use her in underground animal fights. She was the kind of person who did anything for food…and unfortunately, this meant she could go from "sweet thing" to "face-cruncher".

Rekki was a scientist. But Nick wasn't sure if she was "respectable" or had ever been at one point. She was manipulative, very, VERY insane, brilliant…this was the sort of person who, after seeing her work, you'd wanna shake her hand…then blow her away. It wasn't all her fault though, she too had been heavily abused as a child. Nick wondered what her idea of a "better future for the Irken Empire" truly was…

Renee was another Vortian, but a female. Her eyes reminded him of May, but instead of warmth, there was strong resolve…even cold-heartedness. She was, according to May, a member of the Resisty, and an elite warrior with an immensely strong will and powerful moves. She had a big grudge against the empire like many Vortians due to a brand General Pin had given her over her eye. Nick wondered if she'd made him pay yet. He'd heard he'd once kicked a smeet. Nasty prick.

Kalte was another mercenary, and supposed to be as emotionless as the sword he carried. He was cold-hearted, dangerous, and hated being called cute. Mental note, Nick thought, never call him cute. Nick had gone through some reports on the missions he'd done…nasty stuff. Clearly stealth and surprise would work best if he ever had to fight this one.

Flosh was a powerfully-built criminal exterminator and Captain of the 5th battalion flank of the Irken Empire's army. He was stoic and by-the-book, and had a penchant for vodka, one of the few things about humans that Irkens liked…their art of distillation was unparalleled save for the Vortians and their firewhisky. His friend had, according to court reports, been shipped to a gruesome fate on a penitentiary planet light years away, and Flosh blamed himself. It didn't seem fair though, what had happened to Dicate had seemed to be an accident…

Dr. Keek was one of the "good ones". He was a nice, optimistic sort. He was a dedicated doctor and intelligent, though kind of wimpy. His equipment was all based around medical technology and he was said to be a genius. Why was he in Blood Sport? Money. He needed it according to his expense accounts…he was really running low, and he couldn't take care of his patients without it. Poor man, Nick thought sadly.

Laz was not a "poor man". She wasn't even a man. She was a sarcastic, proud girl who had, at one point, been an Elite in the Irken military as a guard on the Massive. She'd been so good, she was assigned to be a guard at the Great Assigning for Operation Impending Doom 2…but, somehow, she'd ended up being arrested for "attempted murder of the Tallest". She was now a loyalist-hating rebel. Once again, he sympathized with her intent, though he was unsure of her means.

Deor…oh WOW.A Irken-Zith-Nerokai…according to Darth, this was another race that was "fallen" in the eyes of many. He'd been at one point a skilled and dangerous soldier, a sergeant in the army, employed by Zinerion High Command. Their kind had committed genocide to stop a race of absolute monsters…but did that make THEM monsters as well? Nick bit his lip. Deor, huh…

Rub'Akho, the "Specter of Vengeance"! May was a fan of his. He had a thick Southern accent and was a Lieutenant in the ranks of the Vortian military with high marksmanship scores. Once again, he was a Vortian who hated the Irken race with a passion, but he was also very honorable and deep-rooted in tradition. Still, he'd killed many, **MANY** Irkens to avenge his murdered mate and son…the poor man, Nick thought sadly, shaking his head. He didn't want to fight Rub'Akho. He truly didn't.

Crudge was an Irken who had once been in the Elite, and was affected with heterochromia. This, Nick thought, was very cool. He had volunteered for Blood Sport for, according to the papers he'd handed in, a chance to kill time…and redeem himself. Apparently he'd had what was described as a…personality conflict. How does one have a personality conflict with a BATTLE TANK?!

Beta was a young Irken who was also an exile. He had interestingly deep aqua eyes with a big smirk on his face, indicating a personality that was easy-going, even cocky. He seemed to be a joking, nice kinda guy. He was, however, a loner thief and he apparently was unsure where he truly belonged. One moment there were reports of him working for the Resisty, the other he was stealing from Lard Nar's wallet. An interesting character, most definitely…

Zig, aka Zizzy Julia Black, seemed to be a nice girl at first…but Sue's chatting with the girls had brought something to Nick's attention…she had a demon in her! Yes, she was charming, but if one got on her bad side…yikes. She seemed very emotional for an Irken, and she had one of the most beautiful pairs of antennae Nick had ever seen. Nick wondered why she was in Blood Sport. It seemed to be personal, according to what Sue had heard.

May-Lin had eyes so much like his own May Nar…she was cheerful, happy, optimistic and something of a tomboy. She was very interested in technology and machines, and she had, according to Sue, hacked her own PAK. She had no engrained loyalty to Irk. She'd even made her own robotic companion. The origin of her scar was an absolute mystery…Nick smiled as he looked at her picture. He hoped she'd get far.

Spring…such a pretty name, and such pretty eyes. She too had MPD, and was somewhat sadistic. She liked to "play with her food", as the saying went. Apparently, according to the science reports, she was experimented on and was put in a cage with a shock collar placed upon her. She had, at one point, be used to hunt down prisoners. Dangerous…

The next one was dangerous too, a femme fatale. Yree was her name, and she had once been a food service drone. She'd gone AWOL because, quite simply, she was a pathological liar who happened to be nuttier than squirrel poo. She had a superiority complex, had little empathy, and was probably one of the few people Nick wished would get hit by a mack truck. Not DIE, mind you, but still…

Krim was the next opponent. He'd been on from birth by Xitah, an Irken scientist and his "mother", who, in her quest to make the "perfect celestial being", actually turned him into the most highly carnivorous, disturbed, psychopathic, bisexual cross-dressing being to ever walk the earth…another freaky, sociopathic nutjob. Jesus Holy Dubya Christ, god save this person's enemies, Krim was sadistic, had a living PAK and elongated claws…

Sadi the Sadist. Easy to remember, hard to forget. A poor Irken named Tanner had told Darth, who happened to be on-planet, about this monstrous Irken. She was sociopathic, cannibalistic, nasty, and apparently HEAVILY interested in Blood Sport. The good news, he'd heard, was that she was easily distracted…especially by cute things. And well…he was "too cute", according to many. It was these darn beautiful eyes, dang it.

Sari was an innocent, young Irken who shouldn't have entered into the competition in Nick's opinion because…well, she seemed so young…so sweet. But he also knew she could get downright dangerous and scary from what Skoodge had told him about her. The two of them were close friends, and Nick bit his lip at the thought of the little one…

Xem was much different. Cocky, sure of himself, and skilled in the ways of fighting, with a flair all his own. He enjoyed saying "Let's Rock and Roll" and had a very unusual ability with his arms…they could transform into blades, or his claws would elongate or they'd change to feed off an enemy…twisted indeed. May told him that he ran one of the biggest underground military forces there was…a fact she was only aware of because of her abusive ex-husband, a former Vortian crime boss.

Dr. Nimbus…another doctor. He was said to be spastic and hyperactive at times, sometimes he was cold-blooded and sociopathic. His mood swung often, but what was sure was that one…he was a big coward, he ran really fast, and he DID have a lot of medical training. Nick thought he'd get far solely because there was a trait about him…that of sheer luck. You could tell, just by looking at a guy…luck would keep him alive.

Shmet was a fleet commander for the Irken Armada. In fact, Nick had met him once before. He'd not only seen him fighting on Vort, but he'd seen him on board the Massive when the Tallest had called his ship up. He had apparently been signed up by a friend of his…hooooo boy. Poor guy. Nick hoped he'd be alright.

Shliek…insidious. Sinister. His body was an abomination of science in many's eyes. He had a history…he was rumored to be a project of a horrifically evil project. He was a sarcastic kind of guy, and kind of a pervert…still, he was no means a pushover. He had enhanced, strength, speed, hearing, and sight, and a strange electrical ability according to those wonderful, WONDERFULLY helpful military reports.

Zor. Oh no. Not Zor. Nick felt a pang of remorse go through him. Zor had, at one point, been in the competition of Blood Sport…but he'd died. How…how was he still alive? Hadn't Domm…yes, he had. The poor being. His body had changed. He was no longer whom he once was…but wait. Nick remembered. A being named Calico…one of pure black had been Zor's reason for entering. Still locked up, according to the prison reports. What if…maybe…he'd have to talk to Zor if he ever saw him. Maybe he could do Zor a solid…

Siren was very much a woman with a mission to win. She fearless, arrogant, calculating, from what Sue had learned…but she was also very, VERY interested in jewelry. That was good to know. She was also a space pirate and had joined Blood Sport for the obvious reason of GETTING FILTHY STINKING RICH AND FAMOUS. Hoo hah.

Vex was different though. He was a gentleman, an honorable sort who was an ex-invader…and a babysitter most of the time. He was currently a General in the army, but was clearly a compassionate sort of person. Darth had told Nick that Vex was not a monster at all, but was trying to be more hard of heart…to make his job easier. Nick felt sad about that. This person had genuine love and compassion in him…he should try and keep that alive…not work to destroy it. He had loved ones back home to think of…

Zak, different from Z'ak, was a bounty hunter and assassin. In other words, he actually WORKED for a living, unlike the Tallest. Heh, that always made him smirk. He had a twisted sense of honor though…he tried not to kill innocents…only his targets. It was possible he was a defect…but Nick didn't care. He DID notice that Zak lived on Meekrob though…apparently he was under their employ, he assumed. Hmm. Usually the Meekrob DESPISED Irkens…

Ker San was a Vortian, and a cheery, kinda goofy one at that. He was an albino, which Nick found to be quite neat, and, sadly, a racist, which was too bad. He hated Irkens with a passion, had a perverted fetish for nurses, and Nick swore if Ker San ever went near his wife, he'd punch out the Vortian's remaining "good" eye. He was incredibly fast and bomb-happy too. Nick wondered what he'd think of Nick if he knew that he was a human-turned-Irken-dating-a-Vortian…heck, he wondered about what a LOT of the Vortians and Irkens would think of that if they knew.

Kane was an Irken with, like several others, demon blood. He really, REALLY seemed to enjoy his powers, and was kind of an overreacting type of guy. He was very creative though, from what Darth had learned, and was in Blood Sport for "family honor" according to his information sheet. Interesting. Family honor, huh?

Syd was the son of an incredibly great assassin and his mother had taught him the way of the gun. He was apparently in the tournament to convince his father of his skills. Nick could respect that, he honestly could. The problem with Syd was that he could get unfocused and distracted if he neglects to take his medicines…he was very dependent on medication. Nick felt bad for him. He hoped Syd didn't die.

"Vexxy" was another Irken Nick knew of…from wanted posters. He was a serial killer, a bisexual, bloodthirsty being who had, according to the rumors, been so abused by his father that it had set off a chain reaction…now he was obsessed with killing. Nick bit his lip. He hoped he didn't meet this one…he was too much of a soft-hearted fool. Would he really have the heart to kill? Even a killer?

Loc was an interesting character. A gangster-like kind of guy with a dead aim, Loc seemed to be almost…cartoonish in his outlandishness. The gear, the clothes, the long, sharp claws, the accent…what wasn't funny was his cool attitude towards wasting somebody. This was not somebody to screw around with…and he seemed to have a…way with the ladies.

Tav…wait, TAV? Oh no. Oh NO. Not **TAV.** He knew about Tav. Tekkinav happened to be an annoyingly persistent, dangerous and sociopathic Irken that Nick had had the unfortunate pleasure of contacting for several…favors…in the Tallest's name. She was a bigot, she was a brat, she was a…well…a WITCH with a capital **B!** Nick had honestly tried not to hate her, but…well, if anybody deserved to be run over and KILLED by a Mack Truck, Tav came PREEEEETTY close!

Gig was different from Tav, thankfully. Not a bigot. Not brash or mean. In fact, she was…a smeet, really. So young. So childlike and curious. Very innocent in many ways. Accoridng to what Darth had learned, She is the creation of Ratch, an ex-irken-scientist who was supposed to be insane…and looked so CUUUUUTE. Nick wanted to pick her up and squeeze her.

Cheese, eh…Nick grinned at this. Yo Quiero Queso! Cheese happened to be a banished Irken Invader…and a young one at that. Why was he banished? According to the official reports, "insubordination". This probably meant he had said "no" to the system. He seemed nice, though…not a bad guy at all. Nick hoped he'd be alright in this competition.

The next one had a familiar name. He too was named Darth, like Nick's dear friend. This one was also a patient and friendly type, though very much capable of sight and faaaar younger. Apparently, from a police report he'd filed, his best friend had been "killed by a demon". He was apparently entering into Blood Sport to…to kill Kane. Oh dear.

Zergarikiaka, or Zerg, was an interesting competitor with a problem. sHE had severe Marfan's Syndrome, which was characterized by excessive height and thinness of his limbs, as well as intense cardiovascular issues. She'd experimented on herself and had gained considerable pscyokinetic powers, and was also a sadistic jerk. Darth had spied on her once before…and she had left a shivering impression on the powerful psychic. He'd been afraid to dive into her mind…what was lurking inside.

Molly was another femme fatale…a VERY fatale indeed! She appeared to be somewhat of a witch…her power involved capturing the souls of her enemies, and furthermore, she had metallic claws and a cape of living flame…still, this meant a VERY large weakness to water, more so than most Irkens…and from what Sue had learned in her gossip, she HATED the Tallest. Hated, hated, hated.

Eail was another cannibalistic girl. She'd once been normal, but Zim's screwing around at Operation Impending Doom 1…which Nick had barely avoided getting harmed in and had sworn to pay Nick back for stealing HIS battle tank…had caused a series of events that had forever changed her. She was sadistic, impatient and had super-keen senses. But…she was practically ALLERGIC to daylight…much like a vampire. Nick grinned wryly.

Nuk was an Irken, but…not an ordinary one. She was also a vampire, you see…or at least, partly one. She didn't NEED to drink blood, she could eat normal food. She was labeled "Defective", despite her clear skills in fighting. She wanted to be in Blood Sport to gain respect, and to rejoin society. Nick felt pity rise in him…she only wanted acceptance. He hoped she'd somehow find it.

Galena was a defective as well. He had originally sought to be a field medic for the Elite soldiers, but the tragic loss of friends and his lover caused him to stray from that life and become a vagabond of sorts. Now he did whatever work he felt like. He was forced into Blood Sport because, quite simply, he'd gotten dealt a shoddy hand. Darn committee, Nick thought.

Arsenal Rev Black had assassin's blood in him, Nick noted. His mother was Master Assassin and skilled Trainer Oben Eve Black, his father…would become Tallest Red in time. He looked slender and tall…and skilled. His eyes shone with dark brilliance, and sent a chill through Nick's body. What was he capable of?

Skoo. Heh. A rival of Zor's. Captain in the Armada, a placid, normal kind of guy. Nick knew him from the Massive's many calls to other ships, the guy was an avid stargazer and had been quite a skilled Invader. Furthermore, he knew a LOT of funny jokes…wait. A lot of them were Vortian jokes. Great. He could never tell his wife any of them. Dang.

"I just don't get it." He finally said, looking the contestants over. "So many of these guys are…well, they should have been shot off into a star, not…not allowed into Blood Sport to hurt people who actually have hearts. Why would the Empire…"

"Maybe they're hoping those who DO have hearts will do something." May admitted. "…a lot of evil people…more evil than good…die in Blood Sport, you know."

Nick bit his lip. This was true in many ways. The worst of the worst went into Blood Sport…and frankly…they never really came back. This WAS a way to get rid of the most horrible beings in the Irken Empire, but…but there was no reason the good beings that entered should suffer. There should have been a different way to deal with Blood Sport.

It was cruel, horrible, to revel in the suffering of others, villain or not. Nobody deserved to die the way somebody like Xis had killed…or to perish the way Domm and Raf had, dying fighting each other…there were no true winners…

Things had to change. People had to understand and care about those involved. And he had to do all he could to make sure as many good people as possible got out of Blood Sport alive…and to ultimately take down the entire thing.

_**You stay here…and I'll go look…for God…**_ Nick sang softly as May put the hologram-dispenser away. _**Not so hard…cuz I know where…he's not…**_

He gently reached up, holding her cheek, then pulling her close. Her slightly rough body didn't feel grating against his own as he held her to his chest, gently squeezing her.

_**I will bring him back with me…make him listen…make him see…**_

He gave her one more kiss on the forehead. "I have to get going. I'm meeting with Darth to head off to Blood Sport soon…" He informed his wife.

He gave her a final goodbye kiss, then waved goodbye, heading off the space station to the teleportation pods. He had to make a final stop at a certain place...at home.

…

…

…

…Looking into the mirror, he placed a single, three-fingered, clawed hand against it and looked himself over in the mirror. He did not see the form that others would see. That of a green-clothed communications officer in the Irken Empire with vibrantly brilliant green eyes, black boots and gloves with a lack of PAK upon his person. What he saw was the person he truly was beneath this mask that was not quite a mask. A brown-haired human teenager with hazel/green eyes that smiled warmly back at another warm smile.

**"I'll keep you my dirty-little-secret."** He sang happily as he stepped back and turned away from it. Dusting himself off, he looked down at himself and sighed. His outfit as a communications officer wasn't special or anything…slightly darker shoulder patches and his arms were the same shade…what people would notice most of all would be his antennae, they had multiple triangular tips running up and down it, like "hair" almost…and of course, his lack of a-

"It's finished." A smooth, very soft voice called out, sounding almost like liquid silk. Nick looked up in the middle of the bathroom and exited it quickly, leaving it's pink-painted walls behind to stand within the comforting yellow of the living room. He walked down the hallway to the living room as his partner and good friend looked up, smiling softly and holding "it" up.

"It is finished." He said. "Your PAK." Darth, the Hierophant intoned. Its circular patches were the same color as Nick's chest and leg regions of his outfit, just like the mask that covered the spot on Nick's face which would have been, if he'd had one, right beneath his nose, covering his mouth and chin. Nick's circular face beamed broadly as he looked it over. It looked quite sturdy…and more importantly, shiny.

"Thank you, Darithil." Nick told Darth.

"Please, do not call me that." Darth insisted, shaking his head, closing his blind eyes before he reopened the milky orbs to "look" Nick over. It had been easy to put the final touches on the PAK. It had only been the second part that needed adjustment…the final touches. Their doctor friend had finished up the first part…

"This looks amazing." Nick remarked. He was about to ask Darth to put it on his back, but he decided he could do it himself. He turned himself around and placed it against his back. It quickly latched on, digging into his back. Nick had NOT been prepared for the pain…it shot through him like somebody was striking in four spikes into a circular area in the middle of his back via a large sledgehammer.

"MOTHEROFGOOOOOOOOD!!!" Nick roared out. "Oh IRK! OH IIIIIIRRRK!" He screamed. He let out loud gasps as something began to pump into his bloodstream…a numbing agent secreted from the PAK that was killing the pain and accelerating the healing process. He let out a long, deep sigh, then turned to Darth.

"So you made the adjustments?" He asked Darth.

"Yes." Darth said, placing his pointer claws together and tapping gently. "It's done. The limiter is placed within." He nodded firmly and then grinned. "Are you satisfied with the…color? I had to scan your mind to get it right, but…"

Nick patted Darth on the head. Even though he was twice as tall as him, Darth didn't feel looked-down-on. "I appreciate it. Your psionic abilities are super useful!" He laughed gently.

"Remember, you've got to remove the PAK for your ability to revive from death to come into effect." Darth intoned as he slid off the couch and found his way around to Nick, who led Darth over to the basement steps. Nick picked his friend up gently, carrying him down before placing him back on the ground and heading over to the teleportation pods which would take them to their destination. "If you don't get it off in ten minutes, then your body will vanish and you end up back here and all the work you've done will be for naught. But remember...YOU CANNOT BE SEEN TAKING OFF THE PAK. Not unless you are absolutely sure you can defeat your opponent in less than 5 minutes. After that's passed, you'll have to start acting stupider and stupider and then eventually the game will be up because they will now you are still alive! And thus...not Irken. As long as they believe you to be some kind of Irken, you shall be alright. Even defectives have fought in Blood Sport. But humans...are not part of this game. " Darth went on.

"Right. Don't take PAK off unless absolutely necessary, don't take PAK off in front of cameras, if I DO take it off, beat opponent in five minutes." Nick reminded himself. "And they CAN'T know I'm human. At all." He added.

So he couldn't heal himself unless he was alone, somewhere private, and not in mortal danger.

Which was essentially never. He was going to a planet filled with natural threats while being hunted by an opponent who, for all he knew, could have eighteen tentacle/head-things that ate people alive and stuck out of his head. He'd need to be clever…resourceful…tricky.

"Remember, this is about trying to change Blood Sport from within. You must try and make those watching truly SEE."

"I know." Nick spoke softly. "I have to do this. If I can get just ONE person to change…if I can get just ONE person to understand the cruelty behind Blood Sport and why it has to end…I'll do it. I don't have to change the whole Empire…one bit at a time, that's all." Nick insisted.

"Our friends will meet us there." Darth informed Nick as he headed over to the side of the basement, making the usual trip to the teleportation pod. His clawed fingers found the access pad and he felt the Braille beneath, entering the needed destination coordinates…

…

…

…

…they arrived in time to see (okay, Darth didn't SEE so much as HEAR) an argument between two Irkens. Both around four feet tall, one a female with reddish/brown eyes, the other a male with eyes that were icy blue, and BOTH were furious and trying to push back the other. A third Irken who seemed young looked up at them in fear, clinging tightly to the ground as if afraid one of them would yank him up. He had yellow/orange eyes and looked like an ordinary service drone. Why a guard and scientist would be fighting over him Nick did not know.

Darth, however, did. He scanned the minds of the two fighting Irkens and quickly related to Nick what was going on. Nick, who had not been sure what the two Irkens were blabbering about, went "ugh" and rolled his eyes.

It was a "Logical versus Magical" debate and he hated it. HATED it. He folded his arms as he looked the angry Irkens over. He wondered why the crowds of Irkens milling about the Space Station didn't speak up or try to stop this…were they so apathetic?

The thing was, Magic was a force. A real force. And for time untold it had governed the galaxy. The problem was apparently that people had begun to question how things worked, to ask "Why", and that had introduced LOGIC to the galaxy. Logic had, from what the tales told, destroyed Magic on Earth, ruined it. Furthermore it sought to destroy other worlds in a very facist-like manner by killing anybody that disagreed with its teachings. If you were not enlightened…you died.

Not that Magic was completely blameless either. In its attempts to beat back logic, countless innocents had perished in the fray. Furthermore, a great number of Magicals were very much ignorant about other species and ways of life. They were…well…hicks. Stubborn hicks. Stubborn hicks who tended to slaughter anybody remotely Logical if they got the chance. Neither side, Nick felt, truly got the picture.

There was nothing wrong with trying to understand how things worked. But there would always, ALWAYS be things that were beyond understanding. They simply…were. And they were beautiful because of that. You had to be open-minded, but also tolerant and accepting as possible, that was Nick's take on the Logic v. Magic debate. What he hated was when he saw people fighting over those who had both Logical AND Magical traits, as the child obviously did.

"He's going to be MY pupil! Only I can nurture him with the power to snuff out "that light" forever!"

"He's MY pupil! I'm the one who will help him keep "that flame" burning forevermore!"

"Should I do something? Send them to their Black Bug Room?" Darth inquired.

"No." Nick said. "I'll get this."

He jumped through the air and the Irkens looked up. Seeing him barrel towards them from above, they jumped back and were surprised when he landed not on his feet, but his hands…

His feet kicked out. BAM! Both of them were knocked through the air and they hit the wall of the Space Station as the crowds now noticed what was going on and turned their heads. Nick reached down, helping the little Irken youngling up.

"You alright?" He asked gently. "What's going on?"

"Para wants me to go with him. Giz wants me to go with HIM."

"And what do YOU want?"

"I wanna go somewhere far away from here where nobody will tell me what to do, but I don't have any…any way to get off this station. I'm broke. They said they'd pay for transportation if I went with them, so…" The young Irken shrugged.

Nick placed a bag of monies in the Irken's hand from the pouch around his waist. Eyes widening, the young Irken smiled happily and hugged Nick before running off. Nick stood up and looked at the other Irkens who glared angrily at him.

"I just lost a convert!" The first hissed at him. She looked irritated.

"Don't tell me you side with those who would eliminate all that is beautiful from our galaxy." The second spoke up.

"This isn't about Magical, Logical or anything like that. If you had been Vortian…" He spoke up to the female. "And HE the only Irken, I would have still kicked you both away. It's not about race or class, it's about something the Creator himself has to answer and adhere to."

"Which is?" The second Irken remarked, looking amused.

**"Right and wrong."** Nick snapped. "When did Irkens start getting bigger than themselves?" He wondered out loud, and with that walked off with Darth following behind, leaving the two Irkens to rant at each other. The crowd divided up and allowed him to approach what he was trying to reach…a teleportation capsule that would take him down to the planet he would have to begin fighting upon. There stood the grinning-faced Irken who had first informed Nick of Blood Sport.

"Hello Trikivii." Darth intoned, nodding his head, his balled antennae bouncing slightly as he did so.

The blue-eyed Trik smiled back. "Darithil, Darth, good to see you came along. The others will be along soon enough when they hear about how you did in the first round." He added cheerfully. "Now you've got your weapons installed into your PAK?" He asked.

Nick nodded, resting his clawed hands on his sides. He did not tell Trik how MANY weapons were installed into his PAK, nor that he wasn't totally sure how to get them all OUT. The basics he knew…the laser cutter, the standard guns and rifle, and of course, the spider legs. Everything else, not so much…he'd have to learn on the fly.

"Now you're allowed an item of that size to contain other…goodies." Trik spoke up, pointing at Nick's belt. "Whatcha got in there besides ammo, I wonder?" He mused, a non-existent eyebrow raised high.

"You'll all see, won't you?" Nick laughed.

"Right, right." Trik nodded. "Remember…not everyone in Blood Sport has…decency…the way you do." His tone now become less jovial and more solemn. "Many will be downright sick. Try not to feel bad for killing them."

"I know the difference. When one stops being a person, one becomes a thing." Nick remarked in a slightly enigmatic tone. There was utter seriousness lingering in his voice and he was speaking more softly than he usually did, with vague sorrow.

"You know how Blood Sport works." Trik remarked. "You're not stupid. It's kill or be killed." He nodded. "I know you'll do well because you know how to do this right."

"It's not about doing well. It's about what or who I can change." Nick intoned. "If I can make them see…truly understand that the Blood Sport has to be stopped…"

Darth patted Nick on the back, closing his blind eyes. "You will do fine. I wish you the greatest of luck."

Nick nodded and held Darth's hand, sending warmth through to the blind Irken's body. With a smile, he stepped into the pod, entering Blood Sport just as Dante descended to Hell…

**And so it begins again. Review!**

She waited a while to get rid of Erin...waited longer to try to get rid of me...when Zim realized what she'd done to Erin and was going to do to me he sent me in the past to try and make things right.


	2. Who's Got the Tiara?

_Tiara is property of **kiwiandcarma** at Deviantart. Remember that now. _

**

* * *

BLOOD SPORT, ROUND 1:  
Nick vs. Tiara**

* * *

_I'm not like the others. I'm not a villain. Villains kill. Not heroes. And I try to be a hero. I try to be different from others. I have an example to set, a cross to bear. But if I can change just ONE life in this competition, make **ONE** person see the truth…I'll be happy._

* * *

"Tiara, huh? That's really her name?" Nick spoke quietly, his communication's officer's chip relaying his message to Darth. The blind Irken re-adjusted his own headpiece back at his computer on the satellite whilst hundreds of Irkens watched the first fights of Blood Sport in a "internet café" style bar. Darth had taken up a quiet booth all his own with a pink-eyed Irken with reindeer-esque antennae sitting nearby, looking at her own computer. She was wearing only a long white t-shirt with a pink heart on the front. This was "Invader Sue", aka "Relationship Sue", a human-turned Irken who, unfortunately, happened to be crushing on Nick. Obsessively so.

The good news was that this meant she wanted him to live very, very much and was willing to help him through this.

"It is based off the name of a headdress whose Sumerian title means "Life-Light"." Darth explained calmly.

"From the file on her, she's…well, she's been experimented on." Sue commented. "Hmm! She dresses really nicely."

"According to this…" Darth's claws brushed over the Braille keyboard he used and he smoothly entered in more data. "Her mother and stepfather made an enemy of one of the captains of the Irken Elite. In response he led a sneak attack on their home, calling them "insurgents". The two were killed though Tiara and her sister Lyra survived, and her father, who had formerly been estranged, decided to take them in. Apparently he did some experimenting on them to make them stronger and it must have worked because the captain that had ordered the attack on Tiara's home was found in 400 inch-sized cubes…"

"…I will bear this in mind." Nick commented.

This part of the planet that he was fighting on was a heavily dense forest region. The rainforest area was lush with life as some birds flew overheard, with long yellow beaks, glowing red eyes and tail feathers of blue and yellow, which flapped up and down in a steady rhythm against the sky high above. A few fireflies of some sort with glowing orange behinds floated in front of Nick for a few moments, then touched down behind a nearby leaf and began to glow on and off, on and off.

"Okay. I'll check in with you later. Adios." Nick remarked. He holstered his plasma rifle and glanced left, right, up and down, searching the area before sneaking through the brush on his stomach, careful not to rustle the bushes too much. Moving in time with the wind so that it appeared as though the bushes were being moved not by outside sources but natural causes, he carefully made his way to a large tree nearby.

Peeking around left and right, he glanced up and then shimmied up the tree using his PAK legs, sneaking inside of a large hole and then climbing up the tree further. He was amazed…the entire thing was hollowed out. The culprit was a ratty, squirrel-like creature with enormous buck teeth and three red eyes that was chipping away at the top region of the tree. It noticed Nick, squeaked, then bolted out of the tree.

Out.

Uh oh.

**BOOOOOOOM!** An explosive stun blast of plasma fire blew away the top of the tree. Nick immediately let go of the sides of the inside of the tree and slid down as more and more of the tree was fired at from the outside.

"You can't hide forever in there!" A voice called out, calm but with an undertone of gleeful rage.

Nick thought about this as he slid down towards the hole he'd been in. She was right. But…he didn't have to.

His PAK legs extended out. SHCLICKA-SLASHA!

He was now jumping out of the tree, his feet riding atop of a chunk of tree that was being launched at the person who'd been firing at him. He jumped away as she blew the chunk into pieces and he shot his rifle. The blast struck the ground in front of her and the force knocked her off her feet, making her fall on her back. Growling, she hopped back up as Nick aimed his rifle at her and she aimed her short-muzzle shock blaster at him.

"Tiara, right?" Nick asked politely. "The name's Nick."

"I figured that out. You're that communications officer. First one the Massive ever had, right?" She asked calmly.

"Appointed by Tallest Miyuki herself!" Nick commented happily, grinning behind the "mask" region of his outfit. "Ah, I miss her." He added sadly. "So, why are you in "Blood Sport" if you don't mind me asking?" He wanted to know.

"My stupid dad signed me up for it." She mumbled, shaking her head. Despite the fact that her eyes were closed temporarily, Nick didn't fire. He wasn't inconsiderate. "Anyhow, I've got a criminal record and have to hide away in a condo." She went on. Meanwhile, a small, red, circular-shaped object with a big camera-lens eye hovered overhead, two small transmission antennae sticking out the top like "horns" and a steely circle around the lens. It focused in on the two and then a small set of small sets of speakers popped out of the thing, one on either side.

"Well, well, looks like our two contestants are now toe to toe and exchanging pleasantries…BEFORE THEY BLOW EACH OTHER'S HEADS OFF, WOOHOO!" The thing cheered.

The two contestants looked up and frowned darkly. "Who the frack are you?" Nick asked.

"I'm Ábéodan. I'm announcer for Blood Sport!" He explained eagerly. "Now when do you get to the killin' and the slashin' and the dyin'?"

"Wow, you're REALLY into this." A familiar voice spoke up.

"Yeah…a little TOO into it."

Nick's head shot up. "Tallests Red and Purple?" He asked.

"Heya!" Purple called out.

"Big P! What's happidy-hap?" Nick asked happily, grinning eagerly.

"You KNOW them?" Tiara inquired.

"I used to do all sorts of favors for them as communications officer of the Massive when Spork was in charge." Nick commented. "I did a lot of people favors actually. You'd be surprised how many people want to just call up the Tallest to ask for something."

"Sirs? I'M doing the announcing." Ábéodan remarked, his whiny, high-pitched voice becoming more grating.

"…right. Tiara?" Nick asked calmly, raising a non-existent eyebrow.

"I feel the same way you do." She commented.

They swung their guns up and blasted the thing into pieces. Nick blew smoke off the top of his rifle and grinned at Tiara as she and him put their guns away. "I'd like to apologize in advance for striking a lady."

"If I were you, I'd save it for when you actually beat me." She commented calmly.

The two of them rushed at each other, with Tiara aiming a quick punch at his head. Nick ducked and did a leg sweep, but Tiara jumped in the air, kicking out with her leg. Nick took one blow in the head, but then grabbed her other leg and tossed her through the air.

She re-righted herself, deftly landing on her feet and one hand, then launched herself at Nick, unsheathing a three-inch knife from her pocket. Nick quickly jumped back over and over as she sliced at him, the blade going through the air with a "SWHCIK-SWHICK". He continued to move around, dodging the swings of the knife.

"So!"

SWHCIK!

"Why!"

SWHCIK!

"Are YOU!"

SWHCIK!

"In Blood Sports!"

SWHCIK!

Nick continued jumping back, dodging all around. "I'm!"

SWHCIK!

"Going!"

SWHCIK!

"To!"

SWHCIK!

"Destroy it!"

SWHCIK!

"From!"

SWHCIK!

"Within!"

SWHCIK!

She stopped slicing. "Eh?"

"Don't you know what this competition is about?" He asked. He didn't go for a weapon…he could see genuine confusion in her ruby eyes. "Blood Sport is a competition started by the Tallest and run by a committee. It seeks out fighters and warriors and sometimes kidnaps, sometimes coerces, sometimes bribes, sometimes threatens in order to get people into its grasp. Many good people who deserved better than a horrid disembowelment on a planet lightyears from home die in Blood Sport."

A cold, terrible, spine-crushing chill was sneaking up Tiara's body. "People…kill each other. Not "defeat"…kill?"

"Yes. The Committee, like I said, chooses people that are the best of the best, the worst of the worst, everyone in between. It's sick, absolutely **sick!**" He went on. "And the worst part is, the Irken race doesn't care enough because they don't see things from OUR side. All they see on the TV is **entertainment.** They don't get invested enough with the fighters…not truly. They might be sad when their favorite dies, but they get over it and change the channel a few minutes later."

Nick clenched his fist as the camera drone hovered overhead. "Tiara, Blood Sport's about violence and killing, and innocent people get caught up in it! People who don't even know what it's ABOUT, even!" He said, gesturing at Tiara. "Your father signed you up and you had no idea what you were getting into! He gave you a **DEATH SENTENCE!**"

Tiara's hands quivered nervously. She began to pant.

"You're a real person…aren't you?" Nick spoke softly, gently, approaching Tiara slowly. "What do you like to do, Tiara?"

"…I like…Halloween…and…and dressing up in scary outfits…and putting on different contacts so I can look cool…like having one eye be yellow and the other purple…" Tiara said, her voice breaking.

"You have family, don't you?"

"A sister. Lyra. Is…is she watching?" Tiara wondered, looking up at the camera drone.

"She…might be…" Red's voice spoke from the drone.

"Tiara…it doesn't have to end this way." Nick said. "…come with me. We'll win this together. We'll make people see that we have LIVES, that we're not just people on a screen." Nick said, taking her hands gently.

"…I…I wish I COULD go live in your castle with you. Your dream sounds nice." Tiara murmured. "…but…"

She shook her head and shoved him back, holding up her two small capsule-shaped objects. She pressed a button on them and two strings like small, silvery fishing wire wrapped around Nick. "But I couldn't live with myself if I gave up now! I have to fight and win! I'm sorry, but I CAN'T trust you!"

"…I'm sorry then." Nick said sadly. Then he grabbed on the wires and tugged. HARD.

Tiara went flying towards him as the wires loosened and he punched her clear in the face. She went flying back as Nick pulled out his rifle again and rushed off into the jungle. Quickly re-righting herself in midair, Tiara whipped out her wire whips again, rushing after him as the camera drone soared overheard.

"And so Tiara and Nick are off racing through the forest zone! Nick performs a desperate attempt at escaping his fate…but can he make it?" Ábéodan commented on the camera drone, speaking loud and boorishly.

"I'd shoot you again, but I don't want to waste ammunition!" Nick's voice yelled out.

Or rather, that was what he was ABOUT to say. But when he reached the word "waste", the ground suddenly collapsed in and he and Tiara fell right into an open crevasse. Ábéodan, who was sitting at a big, fancy desk and manning the controls for the camera drone with the two Almighty Tallests, Red and Purple, sitting next to him. Ábéodan was a rather portly fellow with short, stubby antennae that had a sort of clump at the end which, at one point, MIGHT have been normal pointed tips but were now blunt. He rubbed his brown eyes and looked at the scene before him.

"…what the…?" He squeaked out.

"What just happened?" Purple wanted to know.

At that moment Nick and Tiara crawled out of the crevasse, gasping and panting, scrambling away from the hole. Soon both were on either side of the camera drone.

"It's…it's…it's so BIG!" Tiara whimpered.

"What?" Red snapped.

Nick pointed down into the hole as IT came out, bulging and white, beetle-black eyes with a puffy body and sausage-like fingers, a small rounded mouth at the front and a big shovel on it's back.

"…it's the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man." Nick squeaked out.

"…AAAAAH!" Ábéodan screamed. "Tallest Grapa's Pain, that thing is huge! It's a Plorge! A real Plorge!"

"I thought those were only myths…" Purple remarked. "Hey! If you two kill it, send it's intestines to us! They're supposed to be magically delicious!"

"You can keep ALL of it if we DO kill it, but I'm thinking we should, in the words of Monty Python…**RUN AWAAAAAY!**" Nick screamed out.

He and Tiara went racing across the forest ground as the Plorge, grunting, held up it's shovel and chased after them, intent on some good, old-fashioned squishin'.

"I don't suppose…you have a jet pack…in your PAK?" Nick yelled at Tiara.

"NO!" She yelled. "I don't suppose…you've got anything in YOURS that could help?"

"I don't know, I barely know how to WORK the thing!" Nick responded as he extended his PAK legs and began racing along the ground as Tiara did the same. He spread his arms out. "All I know are the PAK legs and-"

A swing of the shovel that was dangerously close to their heads made them both shriek. "Well, we need to think of SOMETHING, so…"

An idea came to her. "I have an idea." She called out as they jumped over a log. "Why don't we have the forest do our dirty work?" She laughed.

"…you thinkin' what I'M thinkin'?" Nick asked eagerly, nodding his head.

"I'll distract him. One…two…BREAK!"

They broke away in separate directions, with Nick racing for a couple of trees. He quickly scaled one and his PAK legs emerged. Smirking, he got to work, whittling away the top of the tree into a point much like a country store owner might whittle a piece of wood into a whistle in his spare time whilst Tiara jumped around on a nearby clearing, getting the Plorge to ram it's club down at her, only to miss constantly.

"Come on! C'MON! YOUR MOTHER WAS A BLIMP! C'MON!" She yelled.

The thing had enough intelligence to tell when it was being insulted. It began to groan angrily and slam it's club down upon her even harder than before. The "THWOSHA-SCHA-THUD" continued to pound in the distance as Nick finished off carving away the top of the tree. Soon he had finished, and he called out. "Done!"

"Okay!" Tiara raced over towards him as Nick quickly maneuvered himself to hide on one side of the little "path" to the spike he'd made whilst Tiara did the same, extending something from her PAK. It was a square-like object with a small scroll wheel and several buttons. She pressed the scroll wheel in, and then tilted the thing slightly to press a red button. PING!

A blue light scanned over her body, then it shot out at a point some distance before the spike. Tiara grinned, still hiding behind a tree with Nick, and stuck her tongue out, going "Nyah-nyah". Seeing the hologram, the Plorge snarled and rushed at the hologram…

Unaware there was a large fallen tree in its path. Blinded by rage, it tripped over and-

**SPLUCHA-SPLORK**

Creamy white guts surged out of the thing as it's body slumped like a steak hanging off the end of barbeque, grease gripping down. One batch buried the camera drone, which let out a squeak before short-circuiting on the spot. Nick carefully approached the thing, reaching down and smelling the white ooze that was slipping out of the thing's body. "…it…it smells like marshmallows." He tasted it. "It TASTES like marshmallows too!"

"Well…I AM a bit peckish." Tiara admitted.

"I'll start a fire up." Nick offered, extending his PAK legs and cutting some logs to make a fire.

…

…

…

…

The sun had dipped below the horizon, leaving a bright, nearly full moon to illuminate what was otherwise an utterly inky, cloudless sky. The stars twinkling above seemed to be slowly transforming, changing from one color to another and melding together as the night took hold, becoming constellations Nick could easily recognize. Pastels gave way to deep blues, purple gave away to lavender, fast-fading burnt orange transforming into crimson red...

It was a good sky to tell a story under, which Nick was doing. "And so, so I tell him…" Nick began to finish, waving his gloved hand in the air as the fire's sparks rose up into the darkening sky. "You don't tell me how to do MY job. Do I tell you which assistant to launch out of your airlock?"

Tiara laughed uproariously. "That's so funny! That's TOTALLY Almighty Tallest Red."

"Yeah, that's him alright." Nick remarked, pulling down his mask and eating a bite of his roasted "plorge-mallow" chunk.

For a long time, they just sat there on the thick grass, looking at the fire. Nick was eerily quiet.

He hated himself, to be honest.

Or rather…not himself…but the Irken he'd become. He looked down at his three-fingered, clawed hands, taking off the gloves, peering down at the miniscule green scales that made up his body. He thought about the killing of the General Fezz back at Earth, the killing that had been labeled as an "accident", a tripping and cracking of the skull done in the name of protecting innocent Vortians…how easily he'd taken the rifle and smashed "Pikembo's" skull in with a single blow. He thought of the many hours that his hands had quickly moved over a keyboard on the Massive, entering in commands from the Tallest to be relayed to others, so many involving violence and punishment or gluttonous demands…

He hated being Irken. He was a human, and always would be no matter how his appearance may have changed. He was not selfish, he was not xenophobic and he was not so paranoid that he felt all the rest of the galaxy had to be "gotten" before they got him. He hated killing. He hated hurting. He didn't understand how people could enjoy this. This was real. Real people died.

How could any race be alright with slaughter like this? He thought back to the Romans.

"Bread and circuses." He told Tiara.

"Huh?" She asked.

"The Romans had circuses. Gladiatorial sports. But it wasn't just honorable fighting. They'd toss prisoners inside to get slaughtered, or…or feed them to wild beasts. It was sick. And the Romans had this…there's something in people that wants to DARE the darkness." Nick reasoned, clenching his fists. "To just say…to say "fuck you" to life in general and get violent and MAD once in a while. And these people reveled in saying that and what happened to them? Their empire collapsed, going the way of all other Empires in existence. Irkenkind has to change." Nick reasoned. "It **HAS** to or it'll rot out from within or get knocked down from without."

"You think you can change it, though. That's good." Tiara reasoned. "Look, years ago we couldn't even question remotely whether or not the things we were doing were right. Now people like you are bringing these issues and putting them in the spotlight. You're going to change things, people like you." She insisted, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You're right, empires fall. And nice, sweet guys like you will still be here long after the assholes of the world have stupidly self-destructed. That's a promise." She said, nodding her head solemnly.

"…Tiara." Nick spoke softly. "The fights can lost a long time. But eventually…well…" He nervously bit his lip. "…I don't wanna actually…I mean, I didn't really…I got this thing against fighting ladies and I, well-"

"Chivalry is dead, ain't you heard?" She commented, laughing a bit. "…but…you're a good guy. I can tell." She admitted. "Listen, I've got an idea…"

"What?" Nick asked.

"Well, I happen to heal very quickly…"

…

…

…

…the wind blew their antennae to the north as they stared at each other, the brand-spanking new camera drone above their head gazing down at them. Nick raised his fists up, getting into a fighting position. "Ready?" He asked.

"Born ready." She said with a grin.

"You'd better not hold back just cuz I'm a guy!" Nick joked. "Remember, your sister's life is on the line!"

THAT got her mad. Her eyes flashed. She rushed forth at him, fists tightly clenched. She threw a punch at his head, and he blocked with a quick rise of his arm, but she delivered a kick to his stomach, knocking him through the air. Nick re-righted himself in midair as the two circled each other. Her eyes were glinting.

"Nobody threatens my sister." She whispered hatefully.

"Hoo boy." Nick thought. "I overdid it. Now she's REALLY getting into thi-"

She jumped on him and punched him in the face, once, twice, thrice…but he headbutted her back and she held her sore head as he rubbed his cheeks. "DANG, where'd you learn to punch?"

"My SISTER taught me!" She laughed. "And you hit like a boy!"

"Ooh, this is getting good!" Ábéodan cheered, gleeful at seeing some real blood. "C'mon! GET HER! I mean…get HIM! Aw, I can't remember who I bet on last night…"

Nick quickly jumped through the air, propelled by his PAK legs, kicking Tiara in the face. She was knocked to the ground, but when Nick approached, she twisted her body and one PAK leg out. Nick barely blocked with one leg of his own, and the two immediately rushed at each other, PAK legs and fists flying, slashing, striking, slamming into their opponent…though Nick was slowly forcing Tiara back one tiny step at a time, inch by inch, row by row.

"Yeah! Oh, YEAH! Get her! C'mon, uppercut! Do a barrel roll!" Purple sniggered madly.

"C'mon, I've got 500 monies riding on this!" Red groaned, gritting his teeth. "GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME, GIRL!" He yelled out from the camera drone.

"You're good." Nick complimented.

"Thanks. Tell me…you ever kill anyone before?"

"Once." Nick said. "To protect a lot of innocent lives on Vort."

"Better watch it, white knight, or you'll be blinded by the shine of your own armor." Tiara laughed as she spuna round, kicking him against a tree and rushing forward, knife held to his throat.

"Ah, I don't mind the armor. I can carry the burden it comes with." He remarked, kneeing her in the stomach. She let out a gasp and was forced back as Nick jumped over her and grabbed her arm, tossing her through the air. She landed expertly though, pulling out her wires and tossing them through the air as Nick ducked.

"Nice try, but you missed!" He told her.

"Did I?" She asked, grinning.

Nick turned around just as a ensnared tree limb slammed into him, sending him flying through the air. Grinning, Tiara withdrew the long, metallic wires and approached, flicking her knife up into the air as she approached the limp Nick…

Who suddenly jumped up, kicking her in the face, knocking her back a few feet. Then the human-turned-Irken suddenly twisted his body, slamming her into the ground with an enormous THUNKA-THWULK. He raised a fist up, but she kicked him off of him, sending him flying towards a tree. He slammed into the trunk and she raced at him, bellowing a war cry.

Quickly, Nick jumped up, brandishing his rifle. She was forced back, dancing away as the "rat-a-tat-tat" of the blue-shaded Macro-Pulse-Rifle fired away, a thumping undercurrent of big bass filling the lack of ears of those observing the spectacle as one shot finally nailed her in the shoulder, making her flop to the ground.

Looking satisfied, the communications officer raced into the forest, running as fast as he could as she ran after him, the camera drone accidentally knocking into a tree. The Tallest and the Announce tried to re-right it as Tiara continued to race after Nick.

Nick was sure he'd lost her, but he didn't want to take any chances. Continuing to race through the jungle path, he puffed and panted, keeping up a fast but steady pace so as to not overdo it, saving his PAK legs for when he would need-

BAM!

A tree was blown up, one he'd just passed two seconds ago. She'd barely missed. He turned his eyes to see her emerging from a bush, guns held high. He jumped into the densh underbrush and Tiara's eyes anrrowed as she looked around, guns held up.

"Come out, come out, wherever you aaaaaare!" She called out, cocking the gun back. There was absolute silence from all sides though…she could hear nothing. Frowning, she turned to look at the approaching camera drone.

"Where'd he go?" Red asked.

"No clue. I think he's hiding away somewhere." She said, looking around. "I…wait…"

She closed her eyes, allowing the sense of hearing to rise up…and heard a long, drawn-out gasp. She blinked them open, then headed in the direction of the gasp…

A frightening sight greeted her. Nick was strung up in a tangle of vines and…and hanging all-too-limply. He'd apparently gotten caught and in his struggle to be freed, he'd accidentally made things worse, ultimately choking himself.

Tiara approached, coming closer and closer…

Nick's eyes snapped open as his PAK legs grabbed ahold of the nearest tree trunk, easily ripping through the vines and with a TUG, he slammed it down at Tiara who let out a horrified gasp…

**THWUDDA-BWOOOOOM-BAH!**

An enormous cloud of dust filled the air, but dust cannot cover a scream, hard as it might try. Tiara's screech filled the air and the Tallest looked at Ábéodan, who had his camera drone zoom in to gaze upon the limp body that was lying beneath the tree trunk Nick had slammed down.

"…ooh. WAY dead." He announced. "I pronounce the winner…**NICK!**" He crowed out.

Watching from the bar, Sue cheered, tossing her mug of beer into the air and unloading its contents onto a nearby couple of guards, who groaned as Darth smiled to himself, letting out a happy sigh. "Well done." He complimented Nick through Nick's communications chip.

"Have anything to say to your fans about this victory?" Ábéodan eagerly asked, rubbing his hands together, sweat popping on his forehead.

"Tiara fought for her sister, fought for her family. She had no idea what she was getting into and yet still gave it everything she had. I'm going to give her body the burial she deserves, I don't care what shape it's in. It's the least she deserves." He began cutting the tree up so he could retrieve the body. "I want her sister Lyra to know she should wait. In time, they'll be reunited. I promise."

"Touching. Stupid, but touching." Ábéodan remarked.

"I think I'm gonna cry…" Purple remarked softly, feeling his eyes mist up. "That was so pretty!"

"I know. I know." Red agreed, patting his "heterosexual life partner" on the back. "You wanna go eat some cheesy poofs?"

"Oh, WOULD I?!" Purple asked eagerly.

The camera drone promptly BLIPPED out of existence, transforming before Nick's eyes into a tiny little dot that just vanished with a "pop" a moment later. Nick grinned to himself, turning to the "body".

"Wakey, wakey." Nick laughed, kneeling down.

Tiara adjusted her head, spitting some blood out. "Oooooh." She remarked. "Why'd you have to hit so HARD?" She asked, rubbing her head. "I got a headache the size of the Massive!"

"It had to be believable." Nick apologized. "I'm sorry, really. Anyhow, you'd better hide yourself until its safe for your sister to come sneak you off the planet. I'll have my friend Darth tell her the plan."

"Aren't you worried about anybody hacking the channel you use?" Tiara asked.

Nick grinned darkly. "Oh, we've planned for that." Nick told her, waving a clawed digit in the air.

…

…

…

… Ábéodan rubbed his chin. "I wanna know what they were talking about. Start deciphering." He told his staff as he injected a CD into a computer console. "I recorded their channel, but it's encrypted."

"We'll try, sir." One assistant said, adjusting his goggles. He began typing into the computer keyboard, with random numbers appearing on the screen. "Okay, hold up, it'll spell out what they were discussing soon."

Soon what had been at first a "9", then a "Q", then a "4" then an exclamation mark became a "C". A big, glowing "C". Then what had been a "7" and a "F" and a "6" and a question mark became a big, glowing "A". Then an "L", then a "V" appeared. Finally the message was spelled out…

"Calvin, you stinkhead. I told you not to read this"?" Ábéodan asked just as a big, grinning skull appeared on the screen.

**BOOOOOOOM!**

…

…

…

… "The room was flooded with WHAT?" Red asked as Purple blinked a few times, sipping a soda.

"Mace, sir. They're all under the tables, trying to claw their eyeballs out." The head of security remarked calmly.

…

…

…

…"Somewhere over in the colony of Sirius Minor, there's a little smeet who's probably baking in the heat, trying to re-wire a computer for his boss out in broad daylight, while said boss is sitting in a lawn chair and sipping sherry." A short, fat little Irken commented, looking over his drink. He then grinned dreamily, his slightly stained outfit adjusting as he stood up more, holding his mug high and addressing the other people in the bar.

"But MAYBE he's heard about **IRK**…about the land where anybody in the Irken empire, any grunt, any idiot, any lowly drone can make a life for themselves. Where anybody has the chance to become a success in ways they never thought possible before."

"Yeah." Somebody else said.

"Awwwww." Another added cheerily.

"That done sound pretty."

"Someday I'd like to MEET that little smeet…" The portly, short Irken went on with that same smile on his face…which soon turned into a horrid snarl as he tossed his beer mug through the air and it struck a wall. "**AND TELL HIM THE STINKIN' ****TRUTH**** ABOUT THIS PLACE!!!**" He roared out.

"Oh, shut up, Skoodge." The bartender muttered.

"Skoodge, here." Darth called his dear friend over. Skoodge rubbed his eyes and headed over to the table the blind Irken was at. "Hello, my good friend."

"Darth, I haven't seen you in so long!" Skoodge said happily. "What's happening with you?"

"I'm assisting Nick in Blood Sport." Darth informed Skoodge. The two of them had been in the same training classes together and had known each other for years. One of the reasons Skoodge was so fat was that Darth had a "touch" with vending machines that would get them to spit out snacks for free. And he'd usually give the tastiest ones to Skoodge. Hence, the little guy had gotten fat very quickly. Darth was very sorry for that.

"I'm still working as a soldier, but I'm undergoing my training for a promotion. Still…" Skoodge sighed deeply. "What's the point? People here on Irk are so…nasty. I should just go back to Blorch, or…"

"Or to Earth?" Nick asked, giving Skoodge a grin. Nick knew Skoodge from the days of Lady Miyuki's reign, when Skoodge had been in training to be an invader along with the Irken named Zim. "People on Earth are stupid, but nice. People on Irk are stupid and nasty and stuffing their faces with snacks every other minute."

"…it's true." Skoodge admitted sadly, stuffing a package of snacky cakes into his pocket.

"I'd rather be a stupid but happy fool than an enlightened and cruel tyrant." Darth added.

"Yeah, you know where you stand with stupid!" Sue said chipperly. "Hey Skoodge, how is your wife Tenn do-"

Nick bit his lip. Skoodge looked down at the ground.

"...I'm sorry." Darth said gently. He carefully reached out, felt for Skoodge's shoulder, and patted it.

"She's…very…sick…" Skoodge squeaked out. "…the doctors say…she might…"

"…oh, Skoodge." Nick said mournfully.

"…" Skoodge said nothing in return. He simply sat next to Darth, who gently held his friend close, feeling Skoodge's pain.

…

…

…

…after a few rounds, they'd cheered up some. Well…a few rounds and some mental images of puppies that Darth conjured up.

"So, Ábéodan's blinded now?" Nick wanted to know.

"Oh, completely." Sue laughed. "Along with 5 other assistants he had. So nobody's going to be cracking your communications channel during the process."

"And best of all, Tiara's going to live and Lyra's going to go pick her up the moment she gets a chance. That's two people I've helped." Nick said, nodding happily.

"You are doing something stupid, yet noble. You are placing yourself in danger…Nexus, head of Blood Sport, will surely seek your death." Darth intoned, his milky white eyes filling with sorrow. "But I do have some good news. Also, your victory in Blood Sport has raised your popularity. They've begun talking about what you were saying. Not too many people…but some." Darth added.

All of them were sitting at the bar where Nick's "gang" had been observing the fight. Nick had been quite happy to just plop down with his friends and order a good soda. Tall, cold root beer. Ahhhhh.

"I'll take what I can get, guys. It's MILLER TIME." He laughed, holding up his root beer. Darth tried to clink his own wine, but it was hard, seeing as he was blind. Luckily Sue held the glass and klinked the two's drinks together for them. "Some is enough. One small piece at a time, that's how we'll change the Irken race. But hey, if I actually win this thing, see it through to the finish, I can change a LOT of Irken minds, can't I?" He told Darth.

"I have faith my people can change. And I have faith you have the potential to help them be good." Darth admitted. "Your heart is very noble, Nick. I'm proud to be your friend."

"I'm proud to have as skilled a friend as you. The same goes for you, Sue. The booby-trapped channel was YOUR idea." Nick added, taking a sip of his root beer.

"You know…I've got an idea." Skoodge said. "Why don't I just…go?" He wanted to know.

"Go? Go where?" Sue asked.

"EAST. Past Irk. Past Vort. Past Meekrob. Beyond Star Command's borders and off to Arcadia or something to spend the rest of my life playing video games with the rest of those DnD fanatics. Or, heck, even to **Earth!**" Skoodge asked.

"WHAT?" A bunch of Irkens asked. A few Vortians turned their heads over at Skoodge. A k'torimik, an experimental creation given life, also heard and tilted his head to the side, putting down his sunglasses and allowing yellowish/golden eyes to gaze out, contrasting greatly with his light blue furry body.

"Yer thinkin' bout goin' back, dude?" He asked, showing off a mouth full of very sharp fangs and rather long canines.

"Why not?"

"It's again' the code." One wanky-bodied Irken remarked, holding up a bottle and waving it in the air. "That's what. It's taboo. First of all, that damn planet's got ZIM on it."

**HOOOOCK! PTOOOIE!** Everybody save for Nick's table and the experiment with the lifeguard-esque attire spat on the ground.

"Secondly, it's got too much damn WATER on it! Thirdly, it's people are friggin' CRAZY!"

"Yeah man, I admit, they're a few wheels short of a skateboard, brah." The experiment admitted. "But they got lots of good things too. Like sunsets over the valleys, and beaaautiful rainbows, and all these big, wide open spaces with flowers, and the sounds of the waves crashing against the beaches…ahhhhh." He leaned back in his chair. "It's really a lovely place once you just step back and look at it."

"But it's against the CODE!" The first Irken repeated, his brown eyes narrowed. "

"…the code." Darth spoke up, his soft, smooth voice now gaining a mocking edge. "Is this, pray tell, the same code that says "the only good Meekrob"…"

"Is a DEAD meekrob." Sue finished up, sniggering.

"Ooh, ooh, I got one, guys!" The experiment laughed. "Die taking all their babies with you after you've burned their village down!"

"Yeah!" Nick laughed. "Or, or…ooh, here's one! "If somebody steals your snacky cakes, you SHOOT them"! Yeah, **SOME** code!"

"If it can't belong to us, we blow it up!" Darth added, doing a perfect imitation of an old general given the cheerful nickname of "hoo-hoo-dilly head", chuckling.

"Hey now, seriously though…wouldn't…running off to Earth be like giving up?" Nick asked.

"So let me give up!" Skoodge reasoned. "Let me get into my ship, turn the power on and go somewhere where the closest people come to Blood Sport is watching all of "Saw" series on DVD one night in a row! Whaddya say?"

"I say you're a bunch of gutless, lily-livered, yellow-bellied little PUSSIES!" The brown-eyed Irken spoke up. "All ya done since ya sat down at that table is whine and complain! Why DON'T you just get lost and leave this place to REAL MEN!"

Darth frowned. "…I don't like that tone you're taking."

He flexed a single clawed digit. The Irken shuddered, his eyes rolling back, and he began to babble incoherently.

"What did you DO to him?" Nick asked.

"I located the part of his brain that houses his deepest fears and he now believes he's being electrocuted."

"Turn of the chaaaair, turn of the chaaaaaair!" The man screamed.

"I'll stop after a few minutes." Darth commented calmly as the other members of the bar nervously looked at each other while the experiment poked the brown-eyed Irken in the face over and over, giggling a little.

"HEY!" The bartender, a skinny, stick-like figure who looked like he was going to fall down a sewer drain if he tried to step on one of the bars, held up a phone. His voice didn't match his skinny body, it suggested he needed to gain 400 more pounds. "Got a call for Nick, Senior Communications Officer of the Massive? Is there a "Nick" here?"

Nick held his hand up and quickly headed over to the bar. "Who is it?"

"Some broad. Geez. Back in MY day, da GUYS called GIRLS! Women today are freakin' AMAZONS." He yelled into the phone. "**YER AN AMAZON!**"

"Riiiight." Nick tugged the phone away. "Hello?" He asked.

A moment later his eyes widened. **"YEEHAAAAAA!!!"** He roared, punching the air. "Goodbye!"

He handed the phone to the bartender and raced out of the bar, a giddy look in his eye. Sue watched him leave, absentmindedly tugging on one candy-cane-esque antenna. "What's up with him? Has he got a lobotomy or something?"

"That "yeehaa" probably means he's extremely excited about something. And I am guessing, based upon the call that is supposed to be from a "dame"…"


	3. Double Vortian Assault!

_Rub'Akho and Ker San are property of **Joshbside** and **Ravenpuff** at Deviantart. Nexus is owned by Blood Sport itself, and is a character who's design came from **Sirenofthestars**. Remember that now. _

**

* * *

**

_**BLOOD SPORT, ROUND 2:  
Nick vs. Rub'Akho vs. Ker San **_

_I take satisfaction…perhaps too much of it…in the knowledge that humans are basically good and we condemn acts of great evil such as the invasion of peaceful countries, of enslavement, of genocide. I mean, we don't go across our own SEAS just to take an entire country for ourselves (though we stupidly used to)…and we don't go out into space to do what the Irkens do to planets. And these guys are supposed to be an "advanced civilization"…yet if they can't have a planet…they blow it up?_

_Really now. :( _

* * *

On her way out from her beloved's room, she had caught sight of an Irken with green eyes entering the bar…and had therefore given him a call. And now the communications officer was rushing to see her.

"ERIIIIIN!" Nick yelled happily, rushing along the hallway, arms outstretched as he caught sight of a red-headed humanoid girl with vibrant bright blue eyes, who happened to be wearing a dark pink jumper with a light pink long sleeved shirt and dark pink tights…with a headband to match.

"NIIIIICK!" She called back, eyes widening upon seeing him.

**BGM: Chariots of Fire**

"Eeeeeerrrriiiiiiiinnnn…" Nick groaned out, running in deliberate slow motion.

"Nnnniiiiiiccccckkkk…" Erin repeated, also going in slow motion as well. Their arms stretched out further, further…

"Stupid _skaatel_." A being standing nearby muttered, folding his arms as he watched from a crook in the wall.

Soon they were interlocked and Nick was hugging Erin tightly. "Erin, I can't believe I actually won without any real complications…it all went so well! So where have you been?" He asked.

"Watchin' it all with Daddy." She told him.

Tallest Spork had been discovered to be alive, along with Miyuki. The two had ended up together inside of the Infinite Energy Absorbing Blob that Invader Zim had created, and it had ended up on the Planet Dirt. Luckily, since the thing was a mindless beast and an "absorbing", not "digesting" blob, this meant their consciousness remained alive…and, more importantly, they were able to take control of the thing and essentially turn it to their own advantage. This had meant a triumphant return back home, with the IEAB in tow.

Spork was currently "retired", as it were. He was "too old for this s—t" and he and Miyuki were now staying on the Space Station above Vort. Miyuki had been well-liked by the Vortians, she'd convinced them to let her stay on the planet. She was also trying to work towards their emancipation. Good for her!

"He told you about Blood Sport, then?" Nick asked nervously, lowering his facial mask to give Erin a more complete view of his face.

"No, Red did."

Ooh. Tallest Red.

"…hoo boy." Nick muttered, sitting down at a nearby bench with Erin as some passing Irkens gave them nasty looks and muttering "Skaatel", aka "Filthy offworlder". "Listen…Blood Sport is not a…you know it's not a "good" competition. It's become something of a tradition because the whole thing can last for…well, a LONG time." He added. "I mean, the last full Blood Sport took a YEAR." He remarked, spreading his arms out. "And Red and Purple kind of…well, they don't even control it anymore. They USED to, but they kinda got bored with it. So don't get angry at your honey-bunch."

"Who DOES control it now?" Erin wanted to know, looking slightly confused as she scratched her head.

"Well, that would be me." A voice spoke up, cocky and slightly spastic in tone, making them think of some "olde tyme rag music" singer. They turned their heads to see a rather tall Irken standing there with a big helmet over his head and a huge, circular red gem in the center of said helmet. He wore a black cloak over his body with a silky red interior, and had a teardrop-shaped red gem in the center of his chest, with golden "rays" jutting out from it, making it look somewhat like a sun. On his left wrist was some kind of computer device, with a purple and red adjustment console, and, above all…the smile.

Ooooh, the smile. Big, toothy, a shark-like grin that oozed pretentiousness and nasty intent.

"…Nexus." Nick said calmly as Nexus twirled a staff in the air, then stuck it under his arm, bowing dramatically.

"Ha-ha-ha! We meet at LAST, Mr. Nick! I've heard SO much about you from Red and Purple. You gave them quite a scare, running off like that only to come back and save my main man Red's sweetheart!" Nexus cackled.

Nick stood up, placing his hands on his hips and giving Nexus a look that showed he clearly thought the man was a toadstool. "I suppose you must have something special goin' for you if you're in charge of Blood Sport?" He asked softly.

"My dear boy…" Nexus whispered, grinning darkly. "You need to lighten up!"

He held one arm around Nick and stretched the other out.

_**It's not easy having yourself a good tiiiime…  
Greasing up those bets and betters,  
Watching out they don't four-letter…  
Fuck and kiss you both at the same tiiiime!**_

Nick wrinkled his face.

_**He smells like something I've forgotten,  
Curled up, died and now it's rotten!**_

"You got me all WRONG, Nicky-boy!" Nexus laughed, spinning away as he spread his arms wide, a bunch of lights suddenly focusing right on him as all the other lights within the building dimmed. People stopped and took a look at the tall Irken.

_**I'm not a gangster tonight,  
Don't want to be a bad guy!  
I'm just a loner, baby,  
And now you're gotten in my way!  
**_

"Oh REALLY?" Nick asked as Nexus held his staff up in Nick's face, waving it slightly.

_**I can't decide…  
Whether you should live or die!  
Oh, you'll probably go to heaven,  
Please don't hang your head and cry!  
No wonder why  
My heart feels dead inside!  
**_

_**I bet it's cold and hard and PETRIFIED! **_Nick added.

_**Lock the doors and close the blinds,  
We're going for a ride! **_Nexus finished up, spinning his staff around as he placed one arm around Nick, then picked Erin up and spun them together so they were hugging tightly.

"You see…I never really enjoyed all the…CHAOS that came from controlling so many planets when I did Red and Purple's paperwork." Nexus insisted. "So many criminals, so many people seeking our destruction. So…I decided to give the Empire the one thing it needed…an entertaining way to wipe out all the scum and villainy! I think of myself as…as a **guardian angel.**" Nexus explained, placing one hand on his chest.

"Ohhhhhhh!" A chorus sang out nearby.

"I thought most Irkens don't believe in God's teachings, that there's no such thing as him or angels and the like." Nick remarked.

"Well, one can't disprove him." Nexus commented cheerily. "But DEVILS do exist. They're annoying pests like you who get in my way!" He added with a sinister edge, grinning devilishly.

_**It's a bitch convincing people to like you…  
If I stop now call me a quitter,  
If lies were cats you'd be a litter!  
Pleasing everybody isn't like you…  
Dancing jigs until I'm crippled,  
Slug ten drinks I won't get pickled!  
**_

"You, my boy, are something new." Nexus commented. "I just can't wrap my head around you. Who you are when you get out there, and who you are when you're HERE…who are you, really?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Nick laughed.

Nexus growled slightly, folding his arms.

_**I've got to hand it to you…  
You've played by all the same rules…  
It takes the truth to fool me…  
And now you've made me ANGRY!**_

He suddenly slammed Nick against the wall with his staff, the gem in the center of his helmet glittering darkly.

_**I can't decide…  
Whether you should live or die!  
Oh, you'll probably go to heaven,  
Please don't hang your head and cry!  
No wonder why  
My heart feels dead inside!  
It's cold and hard and PETRIFIED!  
Lock the doors and close the blinds,  
We're going for a ride!**_

Nexus's head gem glittered brightly as he grinned his sharky grin. But then…it went wide with horror. "…what's…wrong…with your F—KIN' PAK?!?" He screamed.

"Oh, NOW you get it." Nick whispered. "Fun fact about my PAK…it kinda…doesn't LIKE being hacked into…"

TRZAAAAP! Nexus's helmet began to spark and sizzle as burning embers flew off from it. He reeled back only to have Nick suddenly slam his knee into his crotch area, making him bend over, only to have Nick then slam his fist into his face, knocking him up and over. He fell to the ground and Nick placed his boot on Nexus's throat.

"Now…what to do with you?" He mused, eyes darkly glittering.

_**Oh I could throw you in a lake…  
Or feed you poisoned birthday cake,  
I won't deny I just might miss you when you're gone!  
Oh I could bury you alive…  
But you might crawl out with a KNIFE…**_

_**And kill me when I'm sleeping,  
So that's whyyyy…**_

"EVERYBODY NOW!" Nick sang out, spreading his arms wide as all of the people in the hallway began to sing as one.

_**Ohhh, he can't decide…  
Whether you should live or die!  
Oh we doubt you'll go to heaven,  
So just hang your head and cry!  
Feels like your heart is dead inside!  
It's cold and hard and petrified!  
Lock the doors and close the blinds,  
We're going for a ride!**_

Nick held up his fist as Nexus gulped.

_**Lock the doors and close the blinds,  
We're going for a ride!**_

SLAM!

It slammed to the left of his head as Nick grinned and stepped off of Nexus's neck. "That's a freebie." He told the other Irken calmly.

"…you're quite the card!" Nexus commented, his shark-like smile returning. "You really are an interesting competitor. A "maverick". But that's alright. We need a couple of those in the competition. Good luck, and uh, don't die." He added as an afterthought as he began walking off.

"Why not?" Nick inquired.

"I might just be able to use a man of your…talents…in Blood Sport." Nexus added cheerily.

"He's a funny guy." Nick told Erin. "I think I like him. That's why I'll kill him **last**." He promised with a dark grin.

"You're not afraid of him?" Erin asked.

"Erin, Erin, Erin. If I was afraid of him, that implies that I **RESPECT** him." Nick said simply. "Look, I like Red and Purple and Spork. They're alright. Pretty decent guys, deep down. But I don't RESPECT them because, well…you can guess."

Erin nodded in understanding.

"Same goes for Nexus. I don't fear him. Don't respect him. And he probably feels the same way about me. He might like me, but since he just tried to hack my PAK and found he couldn't, he probably thinks I'm an emotional defective. A lot of people do, actually." Nick added, shrugging. "But I can live with that label."

"Well, I can't stay, I'm afraid." Erin told Nick.

"You're leaving?" Nick asked quietly, turning to look at her.

"I just want to see Red before I went to bed for the night", Erin told him, smiling, "You were doing really good from where I was standing, by the way." Erin added.

"Oh, my lady… you are too kind", Nick said, nodding his head and taking her hand, kissing it. "Thank you." He added.

Erin reached up and put her hand on his cheek, "You know, you're very brave. But be careful…"

Nick nodded and began walking off.

"And Nick?"

Nick turned around. "Yes?"

"Call me. Okay?" She asked nervously.

Nick nodded, "I'll be careful, promise.". He insisted.

Erin smiled at him before lowering her hand. She then turned and walked in the direction where her father and several security officers were waiting. Nick watched as she disappeared, looking at her go with a sad, mournful expression. However, a moment later, Nick's communications piece beeped.

"Talk to me." Nick asked.

"Hey! Get back in there! This competition isn't over yet!!" Red yelled at him from the other line.

"Oh! Yes sir, absolutely, my Tallest. I apologize", Nick exclaimed quickly.

"And get that look off your face!" Red added.

_"How'd he know I was __blushing__?"_ Nick thought to himself as he reentered the arena dome which would bring him back to Blood Sport.

…

…

…

…the central operations center for Blood Sport was an ornate room located on a space station above the planet. Interestingly, it was also a big cafeteria. The vast throng filling into the area was seated at tables that lined from end to end, which had benches so long and big you could have reclined on them with absolute ease, just resting your head. The tables were laden with goblets and bowls and plates, filled with foods of the feast, many of which were quite amazing to behold. There were dozens of different kinds of fruit, meats and, above all…

"Chocolate-covered-peanut-butter baaaaalls!" Nick cheered as he tossed one up into the air and caught it in his mouth. Again. He and Trik and Darth were sitting together with Sue once more. The blue-eyed Trik was looking over Nick's PAK, actually, and he looked pleased.

"NICE. It worked?" He asked.

"Indeed. Thanks for the protective codes." Nick added as Trik sat back down with Darth on the other side of the table.

"Ahhhhhh." Darth sighed happily, sniffing and taking in sweet scents. "A SEA of endless, beautiful smells." He told them all. "And tastes!" He added, holding up a thick-looking greenish plant. He bit into it and gooey yellow ooze dribbled out which he slurped up. "Mmm." He told Nick. "Have a taste."

Nick took ahold of the thing and licked it. "…mmm! It tastes like lemonade!" He told Darth.

"Lemonade, eh?" Darth remarked. "I shall remember that. Tell me, who is your next opponent?"

Nick looked up at the enormous screen that was hovering in the center of the room, swirling slowly around to display the fighers. "Looks like…Rub'Akho and Ker San in a three-way fight."

"Oh, jeez." Trik groaned, rolling his eyes. "Not one of them."

"What?" Nick asked.

"Look, Vortians…they HATE most Irkens." Trik reasoned, waving a spoon in the air as Nick stiffened at the sight of somebody approaching Trik and Darth from behind. "This is not gonna be good. For starters, the Vortian competitors are tools. They'll just yell in your face, laugh at your reasons for entering Blood Sport, and then gleefully stab you in the gut and rip your lungs out. Rub'Akho is a tool, Shojah is a tool, Ker San is a tool, Renee-"

"Uh…Trik? _Ix-nay on the hombre_?" Nick squeaked out, eyes widening, bugging out.

"Huh?" Trik asked, an imaginary eyebrow raised.

"I think that's Pig Latin." An albino Vortian with a pair of goggles on his head. "What was it?"

"I think it essentially meant, "turn around"." A muscular, black-skinned Vortian with dark, deep red eyes and a scar across his left eye.

"…Ker San. Shojah…" Trik squeaked out nervously as two more Vortians joined them, a female Vortian in a red suit and an Irken wearing neon green and blue battle clothes, with goggles to match. Shojah promptly grunted, then smacked Trik clear through the air. He went soaring into a trash can and groaned deeply.

"Uh… shaba shalo, ha'ux la'az le'xa?" Nick nervously asked.

"…you speak Vortian." Rub'Akho asked, blinking slightly.

"Yeah." Nick said. "I'm MARRIED to one, it…well, it was my first year anniversary present."

"Oh, that's nice." His competitor remarked cheerily. "Ah just came over here to tell you to prepare fohr very, VERY unpleasant death, you mamze!"

"Why do you hate me?" Nick asked innocently.

"You ah Irken." Rub'Akho stated in his thick Northern Vortian accent.

"…so?" Nick asked, raising an imaginary eyebrow.

"Okay, get this through your head." Ker San said cheerily before his smile vanished and turned into a snarl. "**Your people destroyed and RUINED our people's culture, is THAT simple enough for you?! The blood of BILLIONS is on every Irken's head!!!**"

"…oh C'MOOOOON." Nick groaned. "It's was stupid Red and Purple that made the decision to blame the Vortians for what happened to Miyuki and to invade them, not me. You are SO full of it." Nick stated. "You'd hold every member of the Irken race responsible for the actions of a few?"

"That is not fair at all." Darth stated. "Nick is not like them."

"He's an emotional defective. He may not be like them, and it may not be "FAIR"…" Renee snapped. "But the truth is more important than "fair".

"Look…" He began sadly. "I'm sorry that there aren't enough people in the Irken race who stand up for the things that most of them are against, like like peace, and justice and brotherhood and so on…"

This got many nasty glares from other tables. Sue took the opportunity to flash a few of them. Wolf whistles filled the air.

"But what you're thinking about me is wrong. I don't condone the actions of what occurred on Irk. "

"Indeed, when we were stationed there briefly, we even spoke up against senseless slaughtering of Vortian prisoners and helped to save many lives." Darth added. "Furthermore, Nick has learned another way to live. He has learned to love. He and May Nar love each other. Irken and Vortian. They believe in peace."

"Do I really sound like somebody who wants to enslave your people?" Nick asked.

"Ze whole thing sounds perverted. Mishugen!" Rub'Akho snapped.

**SLAP!**

Nick had struck Rub'Akho hard across the face with a punch. The Vortian held his very bruised cheek as he looked at the tear-filled, furious eyes of the communications officer.

"You don't want JUSTICE. You want a **SCAPEGOAT.**" He told the Vortians, storming off. "…see you on the planet." He told Rub'Akho with a low mutter.

…

…

…

… "Big, freakin' JERK." Nick muttered as he loaded up his sniping rifle. "Has no RIGHT to say those things. Not to ME. I didn't do anything wrong, I've tried to do what's right all my life, especially by the Vortian race, and he calls me and May PERVERTED?!?" He hissed angrily as he sat in his hiding place.

Said hiding place happened to be a large cave at the top of a snow-covered mountain. Far below, down a large slope was an enormous lake completely sheathed in thick, black ice. You could see into the lake…seeing a million different fish swimming about, unharmed by the cold, looking almost smug about the fact that they, unlike the competitors in Blood Sport, couldn't freeze their tootsies off.

But the more he thought about it, the worse he felt. Yeah, he'd had a point. But so had Rub'Akho. The man had lost everything, **EVERYTHING** to the empire. He was desperate for revenge, and although Nick felt this was one of the three most stupid reasons to do anything, it was still understandable.

"He's stupid, but at least he's not doing it for money or…or, God forbid, for POWER." Nick admitted to himself. "He's trying to avenge his dead family, a mix of justice AND revenge. I don't know if I can honestly bring myself to harm him at all, Darth." He told his friend through his communications chip.

"I know you feel sympathy for him, but you must hold that back." Darth insisted sadly. "He wants your head."

"I know, I know." Nick muttered nervously. "…I'll think of something." He finally said, looking through the scope of his rifle.

There was good news and bad news. The good news…it wasn't snowing. This would help him better hone in on Rub'Akho should he see him. The bad news?

He couldn't f—kin' see him. Which was odd. I mean, the man had been wearing BRIGHT BLUE AND NEON GREEN CLOTHES.

"…he's hiding in the snow." Nick realized. "He's probably inching his way up the mountain right now." He whispered, turning his sniper rifle to "Heat Seeker" vision. Peering through the scope, he was his instincts had been right. There, slowly inching forward, hidden under a custom-made sheet of snow was Rub'Akho, slowly slithering up the top of the mountain.

Now Nick REALLY felt bad. Because he'd just figured out a way to stop him. Sighing slightly, he took out something from a pouch, wrote down a message onto it, then crumpled it up and wrapped it in snow. He had VERY quick hands, you had to if you wanted to be a communications officer. Sighing slightly, he held it to the edge of the cave, crouching down, then let it go.

Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble…

The snowball began to pick up even more snow, increasing in size and velocity as it raced down the hill. Still climbing slowly up to get to Nick, Rub'Akho blinked as he heard the sound of some muffled thing approaching and he squinted through his goggles and the thin layer of snow to look at…

**THWO-WHOOMPA-THWUMP!**

"GUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!" He yelled as he went barreling down the hill, now firmly embedded in a big, thick snowball that was roughly the size of a Mack Truck. Nick folded his arms, leaning against the side of the cave wall as he watched the snowball swirl along the frozen lake, finally coming to a crash in a nearby snowbank. Rub'Akho moaned as he held his head. He felt so ashamed. He'd used the cover of the land well, but he'd not counted on such an unorthodox approach…he'd have to take this Irken more seriously.

He then noticed something was stuck on his face… a small, crumpled up note. He read it out loud.

"Sorry for bowling you over." He read out lout, noticing a sad face near the end of the word "over". "…I'm gonna KEEL that keed." He hissed.

He knew he couldn't do this easily. A sniper needed a stealthy approach, and, frankly, the mountain only had one side which was approachable at all, the other side was completely sheathed in ice. Going up that way would be suicide, unless…

…he might, just MIGHT have the tools he needed, Rub'Akho mused as he took off the backpack he had on, holding up his vibroblade. He turned it to the proper setting and grinned as he slunk away, hiding behind a snowdrift and waiting for Nick to look away so he could move to the other side of the mountain Nick was hiding at.

As it were, Nick WAS looking away, because now he was nervous. Nervous because while Rub'Akho had a somewhat good reason for being in Blood Sport, in seeking justice…Ker San had just been rounded up. And he was freakin' nuttier than squirrel poo!

"I can't freakin' stay in here." Nick muttered, looking left, then right, then reaching back and grabbing ahold of his PAK.

He yanked it off and gasped in pain, but it had to be done. Nobody could see him, anyhow. "No doubt he's already coming up with some twisted strategy to get at me. Like…I dunno…"

Ker San, meanwhile, adjusted his goggles as he peered through the lens of his enormous, multi-barrel grenade launcher, the thick black blaster gleaming in the light of the sun as a wind began to pick up. He cackled madly, then fired.

**SCHA-THWOMP!**

Nick heard the sound and turned to see an explosive sailing right towards him. He tossed the PAK behind him, and grabbed his sniper rifle, holding it upside down, then holding it high up like a baseball bat. "C'mon…c'mon…" He growled.

The circular, red-tipped black grenade was beeping as it sailed through the air and…

The wind picked up again. It went flying to the far right. Rub'Akho blinked as it whizzed over his head, then landed some distance away. He ducked down as it exploded, sending snow and ice scattering through the sky. He shrugged slightly. This was annoying. It was drawing too much attention to his plan. Carefully he slunk along the snow, his boots making light crunching sounds as he maneuvered over to the back of the mountain, holding up his vibroblade. He dug it into the ice, then grinned and carved out a niche big enough to fit two hands in. Smirking, he then raised his vibroblade again and carved out another niche, this time higher up…in time, he'd reach the top of the mountain…and then his blade would slice Irken flesh.

Nick, meanwhile, called out to Ker San. "Sir, you're making a big mistake trying that!" He yelled out. Watching from far, far above the field of battle was none other than Nexus, who was stationed at the space station and had cameras examining the field of battle from atop, with stationary camera drones located at certain strategic points. Unfortunately, the only one close to Nick, the only one that might have been able to catch Nick's PAK-less body on tape…was at the tippy-top of the mountain, above the cave. And it was pointed at Ker San. Furthermore, an alcove below prevented the drone from just looking down at Nick.

Another drone was stationed about ten feet away from Ker San and pointed at the cave, with Ker San's back shown as he lowered the grenade cannon slightly. "Why not?" He yelled at Nick, looking irritated.

"You're gonna be at a disadvantage using that. C'mon, let's fight like me! Come on up here, I won't even shoot at you." Nick roared.

"Oh, since you're bein' so kind, how about holdin' still for me?" Ker San sniggered, holding the launcher back up.

**SCHA-THWOMP!**

The good news for the Vortian was that the wind had died back down again. The bad news was that this time, Nick was very, VERY ready. He swung his rifle and it struck the grenade, launching it clear through the air…

**SCHUDDA-BOOOOOM!  
**

And it exploded fifty feet above and away from Ker San, making him jump back. He grinned sadistically. "You sure are FIESTY!" He admitted.

"Uh, you're welcome?" Nick supposed. He had to yell louder, the wind was picking up again, and now it appeared to be snowing.

"Hmm." Rub'Akho looked up, squinting slightly at the snow. This wasn't good. If it picked up and began to snow harder and the wind began to blow more harshly, then he'd have a hard time defeating his opponent. He wouldn't be able to reach the top of the mountain if this kept up. He continued to use the vibroblade to carve his way up the mountain, being as silent as possible.

Meanwhile, Nick was getting annoyed. Ker San kept launching grenades at him, and he kept whacking them back. He was tempted to just shoot them down, but that would have wasted ammunition, and frankly, this felt more satisfying.

_**"Take me out to the ballgaaame, take me out to the crooooowd! Buy me some peanuts and craaackerjack, I don't care if we never come back!"**_ Nick sang out as he kept swinging the rifle, knocking the grenades back as Ker San cackled madly in reply, jumping around as the rebounded grenades exploded, each one getting closer and closer to where he was.

"Will you TRY and take this seriously?!" Trik asked through Nick's communications chip. "I wanna see one of them 'splode after what happened at-"

**SCHUDDA-BOOOOOOOM!**

Well, he got what he wanted. Screaming, Ker San went flying through the air, head landing in a snowbank as his feet waved in the air and he screamed obscenities at Nick. Most were in Vortian, but unfortunately Nick had learned THOSE words first, so…

"YOU KISS YOUR MOTHER WITH THAT MOUTH?!" Nick yelled back at him.

Darth sighed as he watched Nick shake a fist at the Vortian. Nick might have LOOKED 124, indeed, he'd almost lived a lifetime as an Irken, but really, it was no stretch to see why hundred-year-old Irkens were still treated in many ways as "youth". Irkens aged slowly, time, for them, passed quickly due to the instant gratification they were used to, and things that most people would give thought to such as war, pestilence, disease, violence and crime…they were hushed up or treated as some "glorious endeavor", especially war and fighting.

Yet there seemed to be those…younger Irkens…different on emotional levels…that were questioning the Irken Empire. And this made the Fleet Commander very happy. Perhaps out there was a young, tall Irken who might one day be Tallest…who might one day bring new, lasting change to the empire…who might help them see there was a better way than enslavement and-

Uhoh. Nexus's voice was ringing with peals of glee and a loud explosion rippled through his ears.

"Looks like SOMEBODY's got a visitor!"

Nick gulped as he turned around, seeing that Rub'Akho had reached the top of the mountain and had blown a hole open in the cave he was in. He was now standing there, holding the vibroblade up and eyeing it…and HIM.

"Rub'Akho, sir, I KNOW you hate Irkens, and I sympathize with what happened to your family." Nick said honestly. "Well and truly. Please, don't hate me personally just because of what you endured. Not ALL of us are bad." HE insisted gently.

"Oh really?" Rub'Akho whispered darkly. "Vell, not all Vortians ah fools, either." He added, holding up the vibroblade.

"Look, this is all happening really fast. You're counting your bullets, I'm sayin' mental prayers…" Nick commented. "Maybe, I dunno, you should take a few moments to think about this. Like, a time out. Maybe wonder if…well, you really SHOULD kill me?" He asked.

Ker San, meanwhile, was now holding up a smooth, streamlined rocket launcher, the tip of the rocket gleaming bright blue as he aimed the thick red blaster at the cave where Nick was. "Ker-SPLODY!" He remarked.

"You know, you're funny. I shall keel you quick, just to save you painful agonizing." The Specter of Vengeance remarked, throwing the vibroblade..

**SCHUMP.**

Nick caught it in his hands. Rub'Akho's eyes widened.

"HA! Not bad, huh?" Nick asked happily. "I got REAL quick-"

He then turned around and noticed that a rocket was heading right for them. "Ha-OOOLY **CRAP**!" He yelled, jumping out of the cave and groaning and moaning as he spun down the mountainside, panting and heaving as he was sent flying down the slope and across the lake, the cave being blasted apart in an enormous explosion of mountainside, snow and flame as an enormous burst of thundering fire rippled through the air, making the albino Vortian Ker San smile happily.

"Ahhh, what a _beautiful_ sound." He crooned, placing his hands together and rubbing his cheek against them.

Nick slid into the same snowbank that Rub'Akho had slid into earlier and his popped out, shivering. Luckily, the PAK had also been exploded out with him, and was seated right next to him. He quickly dived back into the snow, hiding from the camera drone, which was now focusing on Ker San.

After quickly putting it back on and allowing the pain to shoot through him once more, he got up, wiping the snow off of him as best he could. Ker San blinked, surprised that Nick wasn't allowing the snow to "get" to him. He could SEE that clearly, it was burning Nick's skin…smoke was rising off from his body and into the air, but the Irken didn't honestly seem to care. He must be some kind of hybrid, Rub'Akho thought out to himself. Interesting.

Nick stood up and faced down Ker San, intently gazing at his eyes. "I'm only gonna give you one warning." He told the Vortian. "You keep tossin' bombs at me, I'm gonna get** REALLY…****REALLY…**_**MAD.**_" He growled, eyes turned to dark slits.

"I'm gonna blow you SKY-HIGH, tough guy!" Ker San said, grinning as he held up a homemade bomb, ready to trigger it.

"You mean with a shiny bomb like…THIS?" Nick asked, holding up a small, circular silver bomb, a shock-blast detonator as it were.

"…now that I think about it…that IS shiny." Ker San spoke quietly, eyes widening beneath his goggles. He adjusted them, slipping them up to his forehead.

"Does Ker San WANT the shiny?" Nick asked in a gentle voice.

"Ker San wants the shiny very, very much." Ker San whispered.

"FETCH!" Nick said, tossing it over the lake with a big heave. Ker San pushed past him and raced for it, jumping over the lake and grabbing ahold of it.

"HA!" He yelled. "Shiny-shiny…HEYYYYYY." He frowned darkly and turned on Nick. "WAITAMINUTE!!!"

**CHR-ZAAAAAAAAP!**

Ker-San's entire body shuddered and shivered as electrical stimulus shot out from the detonator bomb and a small explosion covered him. A few moments later, once the dust had settled, he was now lying on his knees, covered in soot, coughing slightly…

Then he noticed the lake, already cracked from when Rub'Akho had sailed across it in a big snowball and from when Nick had gone over it, was now completely ripping open from underneath. "Oh…SHIT." He muttered.

**SPLOOOOOSH!**

Down into the murky depths he went as Nick bit his lip, scrunching his brow slightly as the stationary camera drone looked behind him spoke up with Nexus's voice.

"Wellllll, that is what I call one TRICKY way to deal with an opponent." Nexus laughed. "Using his own weakness for shiny things against him…AND having him deal with your first opponent…not bad, not BAD." Nexus added. "Anything you wanna say to the folks back home?"

"Yes…could you guys prepare me a hot chocolate? I'm REALLY gonna need it." He asked politely. Ending on that note, the camera drones in the area promptly "blipped" out of existence, fading from the area as Nick sighed, taking off his PAK…and rushing towards the lake.

…

…

…

…Ker San awoke to find himself tied up, along with a very battered, heavily bloodied Rub'Akho…but, mercifully, tied up next to a fire. Nick was roasting some wild animal over it and was already chewing one a leg, which was cooked to a slightly dark brown.

"You're up, good." He told Ker San. "Don't bother looking for your explosives or anything, that all sank to the bottom. I had to get it off in order to save your life." He told the albino Vortian.

"I'm surprised you didn't dissolve avay into nothingness down there…or that you 'ave no burns on you." Rub'Akho added, looking Nick over.

"Oh, I burned like HECK down there." Nick insisted, nodding his head. "But I took my PAK off before I went into the lake to save Ker San, so I was able to come back to life after getting him to the surface. That was the only thing that mattered, making sure he didn't drown AND freeze to death." Nick added, gesturing at the albino.

"…can I just have some of that?" Ker San demanded, jabbing his head at the roasted whatever-the-heck-it-was-on-a-spit.

"Sure, sure." Nick said, holding up another leg to Ker San's mouth, allowing him to chew. The taste was slightly rough, but it was the first food Ker San had had in hours, and so the flavor, which tasted much like slightly salted pork, threatened to overwhelm Ker San's taste buds.

"How come you ah sparing us? How come you 'aved saved us?" Rub'Akho asked, looking at Nick with distrust.

"It was just the right thing to do." Nick stated simply. "You needed my help. I was just trying to assist you." Nick offered. "I know altruism isn't big among Irkens, but hey, I'd like to be a trend-setter, eh?" He laughed.

"…hmm." Rub'Akho blinked a few times.

"If I untie you, do you promise not to try anything funny?" Nick asked. "Like, trying to kill me?"

"…you have my oath. On the Akho clan name." The Vortian promised.

Nick nodded and walked around the fire, carefully cutting through Rub'Akho's bonds, helping him up. The Vortian looked Nick over. "You really…you really ah different. Tell me something…what are you TRULY?" He asked.

"I was turned INTO an Irken by Zim." Nick told them.

Ker San's eyes widened. "…you're a HUMAN? No foolin'?" He asked.

"Yeah." Nick told them. "I'm a human. The Tallest know. Nexus don't." Nick explained.

"Vhy did zey let you take part in the competition if they know what you truly are?" Rub'Akho inquired, looking skeptical.

"There's this bet they have goin' on, Red and Purple." Nick said as he sat down again, allowing Rub'Akho to carve himself a few slices from the roasted animal over the fire. "Purple thinks I'll keep my morals, but lose Blood Sport. Purple thinks that I'm gonna win Blood Sport, but lose my morals." He told them all. He then shook his head. "And you know, that just ain't fair. Why are there only two choices? Why ALWAYS two choices?"

"Like what?" Ker San asked.

"Like…well, like "obey your superiors or die defying them in the name of Justice" or "Stick with your human side or abandon your humanity to be an Irken" or "Run away from your people and live, or stay with your kind and die". Why can't I pick "Keep my morals AND win Blood Sport"?"

Ker San looked Nick over, now feeling something different than hatred. It was something like…sympathy. "But…you're an Irken now, and…they're not nice." He said. "Plus, this is a horrible, BLOODY ol' thing, Blood Sport is."

"Yeah, but if you don't bother to really REACH for a goal and give it all you got, how do you know if you'll succeed?" Nick asked.

"I see." Rub'Akho admitted. "Seeking out new possibilities vithout regard for tradition eez how races make new breakthroughs and eh-volve. Experiment thoroughly and you can dee-scover a new rule vich ze world must abide by. Of course, you realize zere is a fourth option." He added.

"Which is?" Nick wanted to know.

"You fail to keep your morals…but STILL lose ze Blood Sport." Rub'Akho added.

Nick grinned wryly. "I knew the risks when I put on the uniform, sir." He told the Vortian respectfully as he untied Ker San. "Now listen. My friend Darth is coming to pick you up. He'll get you off planet and somewhere safe until Blood Sport's over and done with. You remember what he looks like?"

"He's the one who can't remember who ANYBODY looks like." Ker San laughed.

"…ha-ha, I get it, blind humor." Nick muttered. "So you do. He'll be here in two hours. Think you'll be alright until then?"

"Yes." The Vortians said.

"Good. I've got to return to the space station. I've already spent a really long time down here. I always say it's for burying the bodies out of respect." He explained. "And with all this snow, it should help add believability to my lie." Nick added cheerily.

"You've haff big dreams, kid." Rub'Akho admitted. "…you had best hope they do not come crashing round you."

…

…

…

…Nexus sat in the seat of his private recording office, finishing up his little summary of the last round. "And that only proves what I've been saying for years…idiots and guns…especially VORTIAN idiots…shouldn't be allowed in the same room with each other. Now then…" Nexus leaned back in his chair, and slowly but surely, a sharklike grin spread over his face as he adjusted the microphone closer to him.

"As you might know by now, a certain Communications Officer who thinks he's hot stuff has gotten the idea that he's some kind of super-hero who's gonna make history…he thinks he's gonna beat Blood Sport without being a gore-loving, violence-indulging jerk. Get this, folks…he's actually taking the time to BURY his competitors! With a eulogy! I heard he came back from the planet just half an hour ago, crying like a baby over tricking Ker San the Mad Bomber into blowing The Specter of Vengeance into a hundred pieces." Nexus remarked, his tone becoming gleefully sadistic.

"Well…you know how your Uncle Nexus feels about this kinda thing. Nothin' gets the venom pumpin' in my fangs like a stupid idiot posing as an altruist, causing more damage to Irken society than any terrorist. Don't you agree with me, boys and girls? Well…I think we should show him how we feel. Go off and run that little prick into a black hole! I'm talkin' taking this Vortian-loving, bleeding-heart little PUSSY and helping him to understand we want a _skaatel_-free Irk!"

"That's it. He's lost it." Red remarked, sipping on a soda as he reached to turn the radio off.

Purple shook his head. "He never "had" it. He was crazy from the start, I tell ya."

"TAKE ACTION! TAKE A **BAT!** TAKE A **CANNON** FOR ALL I CARE! **AND BRING ME HIS FACE MASK ON A ****PLATE****!**"

**Hoo boy! Nexus now is waging war on Nick, fully intending to see him dead before the third round is out. Will Nick be able to survive when every opponent, Irken, Vortian and otherwise, is gunning for him out of desires not only for revenge, but to win the fabulous prize Nexus offers for those who succeed? Only time shall tell...**


	4. Mir, Miki and the Masked Manipulator!

_Miki is property of **lledra**, Mir is property of **Invader-Mir**, and Rasmund belongs to **Irken-Defect **at Deviantart. Remember that now._

* * *

**_BLOOD SPORT, ROUND 3:  
Nick vs. Mir and Rasmund and Miki_**

_Should I be glad that there are those out there who are monsters? Glad that I'll get the chance to destroy them and keep them from hurting innocents? If I enjoy making a sadist suffer, am I a sadist as well? And I, who believe in a loving and just God, need to ask if I'm truly doing something He would want me too. He's always showed up when I was most in trouble before...will he do so now? Will God...or the Devil...be the one I end up turning to at the end of this? Only time shall tell.  
_

* * *

"Wow. He REALLY, REALLY must hate me." Nick realized as Darth replayed the message that Nexus had given on the announcement PDA at Blood Sport Central.

"Motherf—ker." Sue muttered. "What a jerk. This might just be your last round since he's sending three other people to screw you over…" She suddenly got a big grin and rubbed the side of her head, blinking her pink eyes, her candy-cane-shaped antennae bobbing along with her…huge tracts of land. "You know, this might just be the **last night** you'll ever have."

"Sue, I would only go on a date with you on THREE CONDITIONS." Nick told her, folding his arms and glaring at Relationship Sue with an annoyed expression.

"What's that?" She asked.

"One: Get a partial lobotomy. Two: Donate your life to charity. Three: Lose those…those **THINGS** on your chest!" He finally snapped out, waving his gloved, clawed hand dismissively.

"WHAT?!" She yelled.

"You heard me." Nick remarked, jaw set.

"Lose "the girls"?!?" Sue screeched.

"Uh-huh." Nick insisted, nodding his head.

"For Pete's sake, Sue." Trik spoke up. "They're…they're bigger than…I mean…crikey! **They're too damn big**!" He insisted.

"They're roughly the size of bocce balls." Skoodge commented. "…don't ask me how I know what bocce is." He added nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm sure on some planet your chest balloons are attractive. Your weak link is…**THIS IS ****IRK.**" Nick proclaimed, poking her in the head with a single digit.

"…oh, FINE." She muttered, walking away from the lunchtable they were all at as Trik held his head in one hand.

"Jeez, what a freak. WHY is she hanging around with us again?"

"I told you, she owes me." Nick told them all. "She's a BIG fan of Invader Zim and of Dibbun Membrane, and I saved her life when she was a really young kid from her abusive-"

**POP!**

An enormous sound like a balloon suddenly exploding filled the air as everybody turned to look at the sound. Looking slightly annoyed, Sue walked back to their table, putting her hands on her hips. "Satisfied?" She asked, gesturing at her lack of boobs.

"…are those…flappy-looking things…in your pocket…" Nick squeaked out, pointing at Sue's pocket. "…are those…are they what I think they are?" He asked, shaking slightly as sweat poured down his brow.

"Yep."

"…URGK." Nick ran for the bathroom. Unfortunately, he didn't make it that far and had to vomit inside of a trash bin.

"Prude." Sue muttered, rolling her eyes.

…

…

…

…having recovered from vomiting the contents of his last breakfast and lunch profusely and savagely into a cafeteria trash can, Nick wiped his mouth and turned over a double action revolver with a smooth, stainless steel barrel and a polished handle. It had a free-floating ejector rod, full length housing, and a wide spurred, deep grooved hammer.

"What I like isn't just the fact that it shoots nice, big, 45 caliber bullets." Nick explained to his friends. "I enjoy the Offset bolt notches and clockwise cylinder turn…they add add strength and durability, while the integral ventilated barrel rib dissipates heat for clear sighting and allows easy scope mounting." He went on. _"I'm gonna shoot Nexus with it."_ He said cheerily.

"Nick, NO." May told him as she held her two children to her and shook her head. "That's NOT going to help things."

"But you're in danger too! For starters, we're BARELY in good standing with the Vortian community as it is…and until Ker San and Rub'Akho get back to Vort, people think I'm a hypocrite who's only PRETENDING to like Vortians!" He added. "Worse still, I FEEL hypocritical." He added. "…I mean…I hate Blood Sport's cruelty and I want to end it, but…what Nexus is doing is absolutely unfair. Just because I'm being more compassionate towards my competitors, he's targeting me! And dragging you along for the ride!"

"Nick…you do know that…I can assist you?" Darth inquired, rubbing his chin.

Nick turned to look his blind friend over. "How?" He asked.

"Well, Nexus happens to…have a schedule he likes to follow. And furthermore…he's always doing the announcements from ONE LOCATION." Darth added.

"…ohhhhh." Nick gasped, eyes widening. "Yeah, I see where this is going!" He remarked, grinning happily. "Darithil, you are a clever, CLEVER Irken!"

"Nick, be careful though. Your next opponents…one of them, she's…she's REALLY nutso." May warned. "Mir is a religious fanatic…"

"And they can be very, VERY trying. Believe me, I know." Darth added sadly.

"I think she'll be the LEAST of my worries." Nick said, rubbing the back of his head as he tilted it slightly. "It's Rasmund I'm worried about. He knows."

"…what?"

"He knows. KNOWS-knows." Nick told him.

"He knows you're really human?!" May asked.

"Dad, how'd he figure that out?" Bo asked as he clung to May slightly, with Ian looking nervously around.

"He went through old records, I heard." Nick told them. "He found out what I had yelled at Red and Purple that time…it was recorded on the jail's audio systems." He sighed. "I told them they couldn't tell a human being what to do…he figured it out."

"Dammit, I thought we destroyed all the tapes." Darth hissed.

"Not soon enough, apparently." Nick remarked. He then shrugged. "Not a big deal." He added. "Rasmund's never faced a human in a fight before. I imagine he thinks I'm so emotional that I'll be easy. But it's because of my emotions…that this is gonna be his hardest fight EVER." He added, holding up his claws and CLENCHING them.

"What about Miki?" May inquired. "She seems really young…and animalistic."

"Oh jeez." Nick stiffened. "Miki. CRAP. I forgot about her!" He exclaimed, holding his head.

"What about her?"

"…look, uh…do you know how…animals kind of…they have a good sixth sense?" Nick asked nervously.

"Yeah, so?" Darth inquired, looking confused, lips pursed.

"…I kind of…passed by Miki in the hallways…and every time I did, she…she looked at me. RIGHT at me. I think…" Nick bit his lip and turned away, folding his arms. "I think SHE knows-knows too." He added softly. "She can FEEL I'm not Irken."

"…that may be a big problem…" Darth admitted, sighing sadly.

"I really, REALLY don't wanna hurt her." Nick added quietly. "…what am I gonna do?"

"You'll figure something out." Ian insisted. "You're smart, dad."

"…thanks, Ian." Nick said gently, getting on his knees and hugging his two children. "Thank you both. I'm so glad to have you two in my life."

…

…

…

…the area was someplace all too familiar. All too…comfortable.

The industrial zone. At one point perhaps it had been a thriving city. Maybe on that street corner there had been a hot dog vendor. By that faded streetlamp there might have been somebody playing a guitar for change. This store…it's window shattered, the tables eaten away by time and termites…who had sat at it? What had they eaten? Perhaps they'd been in love. Nick pictured the scene from "Lady and the Tramp", smiling to himself at the image of two lovebirds sucking on the same piece of spaghetti.

_**Oh this is the niiiiight, it's a beeeaaaautiful niiiiight  
And we caaaaall it beeeeeella notteeeee…**_ Nick sang out, twirling his body around as he walked along the sidewalk. _**Looooook at the skiiiiies, they have staaaaaars in their eeeeeeyes, on this loooooovely beeeeella notteeee… **_He went on, skipping along the sidewalk as a camera drone followed him from behind.

"Holy cow, he's absolutely…" Red sighed. "To think. YOU like him." He told Erin, folding his arms.

"To think, WE like him." Purple laughed.

"To think, he hasn't gotten himself smushed by a space cruiser yet…" Nexus mused, rubbing his chin. "I can't tell whether he's stupidly lucky or absolutely brilliant to have lasted so far."

"Probably both." Erin laughed before she went back to slurping on her soda, sitting with the others in a big, comfortable couch as Nexus sat behind his "control chair" at Blood Sport's central command room.

A call rang out through the city, high and slightly silvery. It sounded much like some kind of dog. Nick stiffened slightly. Wild packs of dogs? No…this was just one dog. And it sounded close. In fact, it sort of sounded like a female dog…

He turned his head in the direction of the sound and peered out into the darkness of a nearby alley, seeing a pair of pure white eyes gazing at him…feminine, just barely, but white all the same, and glowing eerily like a ghostly lantern. Possibly a wild animal, Nick couldn't be sure, but better safe than sorry. He carefully held up his usual plasma pistol, gazing at the animal as it stepped out of the alley, slowly, carefully, sniffing the air.

It was not an animal. It was a girl of some kind…Miki, to be precise.

She had long dreadlocks of red hair, a single pair of aquamarine panties on her (Nick silently thanked the Lord for this), and she only had one long antenna. It was curled, and ended in a ball, just like his own white-eyed friend. She looked very, VERY young. And, well, also very cute.

"Awwwwww." Nick said. "You know you really are cute." He told her as he got down, scrunching his knees up to get to her height. She approached him carefully, sniffing the air, and he noticed that, for some odd reason, her right hand was missing part of a finger. Her index finger was missing from the first knuckle down…probably bitten off, by the looks of it.

She looked Nick over, slightly hesitant to come forward, and she growled slightly, eyes narrowing. A low, throaty "hrrrrmmm" came out from her as he blinked a few times.

Yep, she knew-knew. She could tell he wasn't Irken. It wasn't a matter of smell, or of taste, or of appearance…it was a sense beyond that. Something on a spiritual level.

Ever-so-gently, Nick reached out, but she scampered back slightly, growling. She didn't understand this strange creature, and she bared her shark-like fangs, showing off incisors meant for gripping and ripping out huge chunks of meat and bone. This being before her LOOKED Irken, looked like most of the beings that she was used to seeing, but she could feel it…feel that it wasn't Irken. It didn't act Irken…it didn't carry itself in an Irken way. It didn't even talk like an Irken…at least, not the ones she knew.

She didn't know what this creature pretending to be another creature was, and she was scared of it. Nick frowned a little. He didn't want to scare the poor thing. How was he going to convince her that-

Wait. She was an animal-like being. A doggy girl. A DOG.

He had a dog back on Earth. He knew how they acted.

He carefully lowered himself onto his hands and knees and bowed his head in a submissive manner, letting out a small whine. Miki blinked a few times, walking forward and examining Nick. She reached up with one hand, running her claws over his head, feeling his antennae. Then she brought her own head closer and extended her tongue, licking him on the forehead. She then carefully walked behind him and, well…

Nick tried not to move, but his head shot up as she licked his butt cheeks. _The things I'm willing to do to show I'm not a bad guy…_ He thought to himself as he sniffed it deeply. _OOH! Too deep, girl! Go back!  
_

Finally she walked back around and plopped herself in front of Nick, looking satisfied. Nick gently stood up and carefully walked over to her, rubbing her head. "Awww, who's a pretty girl? She's a Miki! She's a Miki, yes she is!"

She let out a happy humming sound, getting on her back and exposing her stomach. Nick immediately grinned and gently rested his gloved hand on it. "Who wants a belly ruuuub?" He asked eagerly, rubbing her belly up and down. Her tail wagged happily, swaying left and right with great fervor as she panted, eyes closed, feeling a sense of great joy. This felt so nice.

"If I am EVER that cute, shoot me **dead**." Purple remarked.

"Tell you what, let's make a pact." Red decided, and the two shook hands as Nexus tried to contain his laughter at the sight of Nick picking Miki up and rocking her back and forth in his arms.

"I let myself be scared by THIS kid?!" He yelled. "He's a big…SISSY!"

_**Edelweiss, Edelweiss, every morning you greeeeeet me…small and whiiiiite, clean and briiiight, yooooou look happy to meeeeeeet me!**_

Nick watched as Miki let out a long, deep yawn, then slowly began to mumble incoherently as she drifted off into sweet sleep. He smiled, gently bringing her into a nearby busted-down store, carefully placing her behind a counter with a register. He rested her head gently on the ground and stroked her head.

"You stay safe, alright?" He crooned to her. "I don't wanna see you getting involved in this. This place is too dangerous for you."

He got back up and re-shouldered his rifle, then made his way out of the store, looking left and right, then gazing up. His eyes widened at the sight.

There, standing at the top of the building, was a being in a frightening gas mask of some kind, the color of a wrinkled human skin. He had sharp, thick claws and as part of the mask, two enormous circular strobe-light-like eye patches. A brown cape billowed out from behind his murky brown outfit, and his legs appeared to be wrapped up in brown cloth. The eyes.

The EYES. They appeared soulless, pitiless, mocking. Filled with a vigor for insanity and sadism, glowing brightly in the darkness of the city as Rasmund, who worked in fear as Da Vinci worked in painting, gazed down at Nick with some visible amusement flickering over his face.

"How sweet." He called down. "I've been watching you for a long time. Concern for the little one is very touching. But unfortunately you know you can't protect her, and your emotions make you weak in that regard."

"If you touch her, I will make you EAT that mask of yours."

"Don't…ever…touch…the mask." Rasmund stated, his voice suddenly becoming filled with a dark, seething fury.

"…then don't touch the girl." Nick demanded.

"…alright." Rasmund whispered. "We have a deal then. I won't touch the girl, you won't try and pull my mask off."

"No offense, but do you really think you can beat me in a head-on confrontation?" Nick called up to the Irken. "I mean, look at you. You're…well, you're a STICK! It wouldn't be a fair fight."

Rasmund grinned. "Ah, but I'M not the one fighting you. At least, not just yet." He commented calmly, gesturing for Nick to look to his right.

"HEY!"

Nick turned his head and blinked at the sight of an orange-headed Irken with a big, long robe and vibrant orange eyes. She had a bowl haircut and was…well…short.

Really short. "Zim" short. She was a tiny, tiny thing.

"…Mir, I take it?" Nick asked nervously.

"Yeah, you better recognize!" She stated, slamming her fist to her chest, her cross-shaped antennae bobbing in the air.

"…uh, Mir…don't you think that…well…just one question. WHY are you in Blood Sport?" Nick wanted to know.

"Oh, that's easy. You see Nick…" Mir placed her hands together, speaking sweetly. "The Virgin, she appeareth to us all. It has always been thus. Sometimes she tells us when to sell. Sometimes she tells us who to marry. To me, she appeared and she told me to enter Blood Sport…and I know why."

"Why?" Nick asked, scratching his head.

Mir's sweet voice became filled with venom as she curled her claws. "**TO PURGE THE UNBELIEVERS! THE VORTIANS! THE MEEKROB! THE HEATHEN IRKENS WHO DO NOT FOLLOW THE WAYS OF THE LOOOOOORD!**"

"Hold up." Nick sighed and reached down into his pocket, taking out a small silver cross necklace. "Lady, have you even READ the book that THIS…" He waved the cross in the air. "Is all about?" He put it around his neck and suddenly began to quote. "The lord is close to the broken-hearted, he rescues those who are crushed in spirit! Or-or, fear thou not, for I am with thee! My unfailing love will not be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord who has compassion on you!" He remarked.

Mir looked him over stubbornly. "So?"

"Don't you think that rather than forcing people to think your way, you should try and…well…be NICE about it? God wants people to willingly let him into their hearts, not to have his love be FORCED on them." Nick reasoned.

"…" Mir blinked a few times. Then she said a word that made Nick's eyes widen, drawing a flamethrower as she did. "**BLASPHEMY!!!**"

"YEEP." Nick squeaked out, running for his life as she launched a torrent of flame from the barrel of her flamethrower. It whizzed to the right of Nick as he ducked into an alley and she growled.

"Dang it!" She shook her head. "Always curvin' to the right!"

"God, if you get me through this, I'll adopt that puppy from this pound, donate my latest paycheck to the church AND I'll kiss the feet of the statue of the Virgin Mary at St. Catherine!" Nick vowed, crossing himself in a fervent fashion before he extended his PAK legs and began to climb up the nearest wall of an old apartment building, Mir following behind.

"You can run, but ya can't HIDE!" She called out, shaking her fist at him as she extended her own PAK legs and scampered up the wall after him, jumping onto the roof as he took up a fighting position.

An idea came to mind. "You really don't like people making fun of your religious beliefs, do you?" He asked softly.

"Oh good, you understand the obvious." Mir remarked.

"You read the Bible a lot, Mir?"

"Yes."

"You might know THIS passage then." Nick stated. "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and good will shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is _truly_ his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children."

Mir blinked. Nick suddenly pulled out his plasma pistol, and with a single shot wounded her on the shoulder, making her drop the flamethrower and scream as he advanced towards her, holding his blaster up to her head, speaking loudly and proudly.

"And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and _**furious**_ anger those who attempt to _poison_ and _destroy_ my brothers!"

He then placed his gun at Mir's head, roaring out. **"And you will **_**know**_** my name is the **_**Lord**_** when I lay my vengeance upon thee!"**

She closed her eyes in fear…

And then she found herself being lifted up. Nick placed her on her butt, kicked the flamethrower away, then placed the pistol back in his pocket as he grinned.

_**First you get down on your knees,  
Fiddle with your rosaries!  
**_

He forced her head down, still singing.

_**Bow your head with great respect,  
And genuflect, genuflect, genuflect!  
**_

He then picked her up, tossing her into the air, then cartwheeling away as she landed with a THWUMPA-THWUNK, rubbing her sore butt.

_**Do whatever steps you want, if  
You have cleared them with the pontiff.  
Everybody say his own  
Kyrie eleison,  
Doin' the Vatican rag!  
**_

Growling, she held up two pistols as Nick twirled an imaginary cane around, dancing around the roof, avoiding her shots.

_**Get in line in that processional,  
Step into that small confessional,  
There, the guy who's got religion'll  
Tell you if your sin's original.  
If it is, try playin' it safer,  
Drink the wine and chew the wafer,  
Two, four, six, eight,  
Time to transubstantiate! **_

Nick then leapt up through the air, spinning around and landing with a THWUMP on Mir's body, knocking the pistols away. He promptly picked her up, and proceeded to start dancing with her, spinning around on the roof as Rasmund watched in interest, rubbing his chin.

"Ooh, how SINFUL!" Mir groaned.

_**So get down upon your knees,  
Fiddle with your rosaries,  
Bow your head with great respect,  
And genuflect, genuflect, genuflect!**_

Nick then tossed Mir through the air and she skidded along the ground. She jumped back up only to see that…her hands were tied behind her back. Nick grinned and waved his hand at her in a "buh-bye" fashion, backing towards the edge of the roof.

_**Make a cross on your abdomen,  
When in Rome do like a roman,  
Ave Maria…  
GEE it's good to see ya!  
**_

Nick then bowed deeply before jumping off the roof, landing expertly on the ground and walking off through the streets as Mir struggled to free herself.

_**Gettin' ecstatic an'  
Sorta dramatic an'  
Doin' the Vatican rag!**_

Rasmund watched him walk away, eyes narrowing slightly behind his mask. "…how interesting. How every interesting. But…I'll find a way to break him. And I think…I know how."

His eyes gazed downward…looking at the store where Miki had been in. He smiled coldly to himself as his PAK legs extended and he climbed spider-like down the building, sneaking into the store as Miki, yawning, stretched her legs out, turning her head in time to see a strange, masked being throw a syringe at her.

All went black.

…

…

…

…Nick was now overlooking a park, his rifle's scope mounted as he looked around for Rasmund, carefully hiding in a nearby abandoned playground structure. He didn't trust the Irken to play "fair"…not even remotely. Yes, Nick fought kind of dirty, but at least he was honest about it and didn't fight dirty in a fatal way. It was light-hearted, almost playful teasing what he'd done to Mir. He had not actually wanted to hurt her, just to rattle her, make her think twice about fighting him without actually doing any real damage.

Nick knew that his opponents would, for the most part, not be so merciful. They had an unfortunate belief that this was a competition where mercy just couldn't be shown. This truly made him sad. It was BECAUSE this competition was so horrible and blood-filled that you had to hold onto what compassion you might have-

Wait. He could hear somebody speaking.

"Oh Niiiiiiiick?" Rasmund's whisper came out. Nick stiffened as he lowered the rifle to see Rasmund lurking in the shadows of the nearest city building, his eyes glowing brightly. "I know you're out there. I know you can probably hear me…" He added softly as the camera drones whizzed around overhead.

Nick's eyes narrowed. "I'm sure you can hear me too." He whispered darkly, holding up a small communications radio to his lips with one gloved hand as a little PDA which was attached to the nearby apartment block relayed his words to Rasmund's lack of ears. "What are you planning?" He asked.

"See, it's very simple. I know your weakness." Rasmund says. "And it is compassion for others. Really, I just don't understand your concern for somebody that is trying to destroy you. Going easy on Mir…sparing Miki…"

"It's called "altruism"." Nick stated. "It's something all people have in them. YOUR kind just conveniently forgets about it because you don't want to do what's right, you want to do what's EASY and FEELS good!"

Rasmund's eyes glowed with sickening glee, peals of laughter ringing out, high-pitched and insane. "Gwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh dear, dear, defective little officer…what you call "altruism" is nothing more than an invention of evolution that no longer has a place in the world." He commented calmly. "People like you once survived in greater numbers than those who were selfish and cruel, and therefore altruistic genes were passed down to you. Hence…you now feel that unselfish behavior is "right"."

"That doesn't FIT!" Nick yelled angrily, firing off a round that ricocheted near Rasmund's head, making him frown slightly behind his mask. He KNEW Nick had missed on purpose. "People like me believe that sacrificing time, money, emotion, even our LIVES for other people, especially for somebody that's "not of my kind"…to be the right thing to do! If you fell into the river, I'd feel guilty for not going in to save your life! Most of my people would feel guilty and would try and help you! If all of my ancestors had tried to do stuff like that, they would have all eventually killed themselves off!"

"Oh really?" Rasmund inquired, looking amused.

"That kind of altruism should have died out years ago, because engaging in unselfish acts that put your own life at risk…that doesn't work on a strict evolutionary naturalism basis!" Nick insisted. "The reason I believe in saving others isn't because it was passed down through my genes, that reasoning is faulty. The reason is because it's RIGHT. And that alone makes perfect and absolute sense if you believe we've all got a moral code to adhere to."

"A moral code we invented. Stop deluding yourself…your…people…are too emotionally invested and this will destroy you here in Blood Sport. Look." Rasmund gestured behind him…

Miki was tied up to a nearby pole, squirming, trying to break free. Nick's eyes widened as he shot up from his position and jumped atop the playground structure, standing atop of the slide. "You promised, you COWARD!" Nick yelled. "Taking a hostage! A little GIRL as a hostage, of all things!"

"She's just an animal. Mindless. But you, you see here differently. That's why you can't let me kill her." Rasmund laughed.

Nick hung his head. "…you cruel bastard." He whispered.

"What will you do?" Rasmund spoke softly, gesturing at Miki. "Come save her…or save your own skin?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Nick growled, rushing at Rasmund. "Your body's WEAK, Rasmund! I'll break you in one punch for what you've done to Miki!"

But as he lunged at Rasmund, he suddenly felt himself trip over a wire…

And then something shot out from the bushes. A hissing sound filled his ears as gas flooded his lungs and he coughed and panted, staggering back slightly as Rasmund sank into the shadows again, the eyes vanishing into the inky blackness.

"Prepare to face your fears…" He whispered. "ALL of them…"

Nick held his head as he stood up, coughing madly. "That's not gonna…work on me! I don't know what you just gassed me with, but I don't feel any different!" He yelled.

Rustling in the bushes. He turned around, and his eyes widened. It couldn't be. Couldn't fracking BE.

Humans. Hundreds of them, all looking at him…or at least, he ASSUMED they were looking at him, he couldn't honestly tell, their faces…something was wrong with their faces.

They had none. Nothing but blank, fleshy heads, vibrating and shaking madly, quivering furiously as a horrible whisper filled the air, darkness clouding the skies as the clouds above began to swirl around like a hurricane, an enormous, blazing dark purple light centered at the very center of the sky as a harsh, biting wind swirled around him, chilling him to the bone.

"You've killed us…" The whispers said over and over, the faceless things before him advancing on him. "You've killed us, you've killed us…"

"No, no, I didn't kill you!" Nick protested. "I'd never do that, I…"

"You sold us out…you sided with them…how could you? How could you?"

"Your fault…your fault…YOUR fault…"

"NO!" Nick yelled, rushing away, holding his head over his ears and running as fast as he could away from them as they continued to advance on him. He could hear laughter ringing through the air as the things continued to chant.

_"Your fault…your fault…"_

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!" Nick yelled, but he was forced to reel back, for the ground before him was flying up into the sky, dissolving into a yellow haze as the wind continued to bite as his body, piercing through his skin like…

Rasmund smiled coldly, pulling out the needle from the human-turned-irken's skin. "Sooner or later you will crack, young one." He whispered darkly, holding up the needle that had just slid into Nick's skin as Miki struggled uselessly nearby. Mir stood there, arms folded.

"This seems hardly…worth it." She stated. "You're sure he's being amply punished?"

"The second dose is about to ensure it." Rasmund insisted. "Already he's begun to encounter the faceless beings…now he'll encounter the agent of punishment…"

"Ah, it feels good doing God's work." Mir remarked happily, looking smugly at the scene as Nick quivered, clinging tightly to himself, continuing to hallucinate.

…

…

…

…Nick found himself human once again. Human…brown hair. White skin. Hazel green eyes a nice, kindly smile. A white t-shirt and pants with sneakers to match made him stand out in a forest filled with darkness, where every tree's branch seemed to be reaching out for him with each tiny piece of the tree limb reaching out with clawed hands…he held his body tightly, eyes filled with fear…

What was going on? How was this possible? This shouldn't BE. He was sure he hadn't been in a city? And…

And…

Oh dammit. His brain was all fuzzy. But there was something he knew that was fiercely eating away at the back of his mind. Something here was not right. There was something big and important that he was forgetting.

But what? What was he…

He heard a SNAP and he whipped his head around, looking as somebody else entered the clearing. His eyes widened at the sight before him. Pale skin like a lime gone rotten. Sickly, puke-green eyes with dark bags underneath…sharp fangs in a mouth too damn big for it's own good, and armed to the teeth with weapons. Sharp, deadly claws slowly unsheathing from his gloves, poking through the fabric…talons poking out of his boots…

Him. Himself. His IRKEN self, demonized and licking his lips in anticipation of some sick meal…

"Time to pay the piper." The punishing thing before him stated calmly.

"This can't be real." Nick stated, trying to be calm but inwardly screaming in horror at this thing before him, his worst nightmare. "You're not real! You're just…just something that's not very real!"

"Ooh, gee." The thing commented, putting a claw to his lip and thinking thoughtfully. "If I'm not real, I guess I can't do THIS, can I?"

With that, it's mouth opened impossibly wide as it lunged forward, claws raised up, grabbing Nick by the shoulders and tearing away at his skin, making Nick howl in pain as he was pinned beneath the thing as it kept clawing and tearing at his flesh.

"Who do you think you are? You can't match me in strength." It hissed as Nick tried to break free. It pitilessly grinned as it dug it's claws deeper into Nick's body. "Pathetic."

Nick growled as he clenched his fist. "Are you really trying to resist me?" The punishing thing asked leaning down and whispering in his ear. "Trying to resist your rightful punishment?"

"Punishment for WHAT?" Nick snapped angrily. "My entire life I've only tried to do GOOD!" He yelled.

And with that the fist came up. He CLONKED the thing on the head and like that…it SHATTERED into pieces like a mirror breaking.

Rasmund frowned darkly as Nick suddenly spoke. "My entire life I've only tried…to do…to do GOOD…"

"I don't believe it." He whispered angrily. "The human is actually…nobody's beaten the Punishing element so quickly. Apparently he does not feel he doesn't need to be punished at all…" Rasmund mused. "How intriguing. But I suppose it's time to put an end to this with a final dose." He commented, holding up another needle from his PAK and slipping it into Nick's body once more…

Nick felt the cold wind sting at his body as he stood up, his wounds healing. He looked around the forest as he heard Rasmund's voice whisper through the wind. "You're in my world now…and you'll do what I want you to do. And what I want you to do…is to fight…and to DIE." He hissed.

Nick closed his eyes as he clenched his fist, his hair fluttering in the woods as the forest crowded itself around him, his body becoming lost in the thicket of trees. He looked left, then right as he began walking forward, trying to ignore the gloating peals of glee from Rasmund.

"Does it bother you to know you're almost broken?" Rasmund asked calmly. "Your own fears are eating you alive from within! Your own horrors, your own terror…they will ANNIHILATE you."

"You're a coward. You couldn't get me to face you on fair terms, you had to take a hostage!" Nick yelled, clenching his fist and suddenly tuning to point accusingly at the sky as Rasmund's face appeared, forming out of clouds and two hanging moons. A horrid leer seemed to rip it's way across Rasmund's masked face, showing off a fanged mouth and a snake wormed it's way out of the manipulator's maw, hissing slightly…acting as his "tongue".

"Accept your reality, fool." Rasmund laughed.

"Because I'm human, I don't HAVE to!" Nick said with a proud smirk. "Because I'm a human, it means that I have the ability to change things I find WRONG with my reality."

With that he clenched his fists and then his body pulsed as he took up a fighting position, the wind picking up around him as he breathed in and out deeply, eyes glittering as he looked at Rasmund.

_**The clouds are rolling in…who will watch them?**_

_**The boat is gone, the waves are strong, I hope they're swimmin'…**_

_**Little boy lost in the woods…where's the clearing?**_

_**The town is out, they're calling loud, but he's not hearing…**_

_**Seems to me I'm always miiiiiiiiles awaaaaay…**_

_**Looking-for-my-own-face!**_

With that, he spread his arms wide, hands held out as the entire forest was blown away in an enormous burst of wind as it swirled around Nick, who's voice rang out, looking up defiantly at Rasmund's surprised face. He then took off running.

_**Save me from myself, I can't relaaate!  
We're mouth to mouth and still I suffocate!**_

_**There's nothing left inside for me to break!**_

_**Save me from myseeeeeelf!**_

Leaping off a nearby cliff, he landed expertly in the middle of a junkyard, slowly rising to his feet, eyes closed as he slowly walked forward, past a wrecked bullet train and an old, dilapidated RV.

_**The bullet in the yard…slowly rusting!  
The bottle's cracked, the kid's come back**_

_**And I'm just lookin!**_

_**The wine is on the floor…the candles flicker!  
Your eyes fall, and I'm appalled, it's all just cinder!**_

His eyes snapped open as he picked up a nearby pipe, leveling at the image of his Irken self, which held up his own pipe, eyes nodding in affirmation as the two sang out together.

_**It seems to me we're always miiiiles apaaaart!  
Tryin' to find another place to start!**_

They rushed forward at each other, the metal pipes whizzing through the air, clanging and banging as they struck at each other with harsh, heavy blows, the area around them slowly dissolving away into the inky darkness of space as stars twirled around them.

_**Save me from myself, I can't relaaate!  
We're mouth to mouth and still I suffocate!**_

_**There's nothing left inside for me to break!**_

_**Save me from myseeeeeelf!**_

At last they struck each other in the shoulder and their eyes locked. They stared at each other for a long, long time as blood seeped down the hands from Nick's Irken self…

But only a little. Gently, carefully, Nick reached over to his Irken self, taking his shirt off and using it to wipe the blood away. His Irken self blinked a few times as rain began to pour down, bathing them, baptizing them as he looked at his human side, saying nothing but looking mournful. Nick sighed and gave his other side a gentle pat on the cheek.

"Human is not synonymous with weakness." His Irken said at last.

All of reality shattered. Rasmund gasped as Nick stood up, singing softly, deliberately.

_**The sailors never left…they knew the weather!**_

_**When they were found, they were having drinks together!  
They found the little boy…in the grocery!  
Happy endings all around but still they haunt me…**_

Rasmund's eyes went wide with fear as Nick held up his fists, then rushed forward.

_**Save me from myself, I can't relaaate!**_

He slammed his fist into Rasmund's face, sending him flying into Mir, knocking them both back.

_**We're mouth to mouth and still I suffocate!**_

He then delivered a harsh kick to Rasmund's stomach, knocking him into the air.

_**There's nothing left inside for me to break!**_

He then held up his plasma rifle high into the air, bringing it down…

_**Save me from myseeeeeelf!**_

**KRUCKA-CRACK!**

…

…

…

…Rasmund awoke to find himself tied up along with Mir…arms sprayed out, legs stuck together in a "T" shaped position…or maybe like…

"I imagine you must think yourself funny." Mir whispered angrily at Nick as he sat with Miki, letting her enjoy a nice bit of meat as he cooked a caught bird of some kind over a fire.

"Well, what can I say?" Nick shrugged. "Never take yourself too seriously."

"Why did you not just kill me?" Rasmund demanded to know.

"I was tempted to take your mask off." Nick said. "You broke your deal. Why should I have kept mine? But you seem to really, REALLY want to keep it on. So…" He shrugged again. "It's on. And I didn't kill you. It wouldn't be very Christian."

"Pfft." Rasmund rolled his eyes. "Don't bring that into it. There's no such thing as God."

"What makes you say that?" Nick asked calmly. "Of course there's a God."

"You can't be serious." Rasmund laughed, noticing that a camera drone was hovering nearby. "I know your kind…you defects…might want to believe that there's some reason why things are the way they are…"

"There is. It's called "right and wrong"." Nick stated, laughing slightly as he caressed Miki's head.

"Don't be stupid, child. Only the majority, the Irkens who are not DELUSIONAL IDIOTS like yourself, get to decide what is right." Rasmund snapped.

"Heathen!" Mir added. "To suggest otherwise is blasphemy! Heresy!"

"…tell me something. You seem to think there is no real good or evil. That only the majority gets to decide how reality is. So…we're the winners here." Nick said, gesturing at Miki. "You're at our mercy. And, well…if the majority has the right to vote to exterminate a minority, we can do that. What would you say to me feeding you to Miki?" The communications officer inquired.

Rasmund's eyes widened in horror. Mir gasped. "No, please! Don't!" Mir begged.

"Why not?" Nick remarked as Miki growled, licking her lips.

"You can't do that." Rasmund stuttered out. "That would be…that's…"

"_Wrong_?" Nick asked softly.

The camera drone nearby might not have been able to see Rasmund's face, but Nick was sure that all watching could feel the visible loss of confidence. It was as if somebody had dealt a harsh blow to the masked Irken's gut. Mir's mouth hung slightly open, and she blinked stupidly, taking this new revelation in slowly.

"If you say "no, that would be wrong", you're back to square one. The thing is, if there's no moral standard, no God, then all moral statements are arbitrary, all moral valuations are subjective and internal, and there can be no way to judge a person's values." Nick told Rasmund. "To people like you…you think that anything is up for grabs. But the thing is…you don't truly, in your heart of hearts, believe that. And you don't believe it because you're a person. You're a moral creature in an amoral world…like me."

With that, he patted Rasmund on the cheek and then picked Miki up in his arms. "We're heading back to the Space Station. Your bonds are on a time-based release lock. They'll let you go in half an hour." He said.

With that, he waved goodbye, leaving Rasmund and Mir alone as they looked down at the ground, then at each other. They realized that, in only a few minutes, they had had both their feet planted firmly in the center of a very brave new world.


	5. Hell Hath No Fury Like A Waitress Pissed

_Our friend Nixus is property of __**Angrykiwi**__ and Tjazz and "On-Air" belong to __**Ravenpuff**__. And remember, I don't own Blood Sport.

* * *

_

_**BLOOD SPORT, ROUND 4:  
Nick vs. Reg and Nixus

* * *

**_

_There's a bit of an old story that's simple enough to understand. It's a fable that goes like this: a young lamb is suddenly captured by a wolf who wants to eat the lamb. The lamb wants to know why. The wolf's excuses include "having stolen my food", "drunken my water", "invaded my territory", all of them are negated and proven wrong by the lamb. The wolf finally has enough and eats the poor thing, saying he was hungry and that was reason enough. The moral: evil people will use the most pathetic, LAMEST, inexcusable reasons to do something. Or, as Aesop put it..._

* * *

"The tyrant will always find pretext for his tyranny." Nick finished as he folded his arms at the table he was sitting at with his friends and his family. Bo was sitting on his lap and he gently stroked his son's head, struck by how very cute he found the little nubs atop his two son's heads to be. And to think, soon...he'd have a daughter. The baby was due any day now.

"That's a very good fable." Erin said as she sat with Nick, sitting by Tallest Red as Tallest Purple sipped a soda and sat near Trik, who had his arm in a sling from the "incident" with the Vortians. Darth gently stroked Ian's head in a kindly fashion as May lovingly looked at her husband. "You know, it...sort of makes me...think of a few people."

"Like your dad or your boyfriend?" Nick laughed. Red gave him a glare with his rectangular eyes.

"Actually, I was thinking of Zim." Erin admitted. "I wonder." She put a finger to her lip. "I wonder how he's doing, WHAT he's doing. I haven't heard from him in so long."

Nick thought of Zim with a bit of a grin. Ah, that crazy cat.

"Heyyy, this is "On Air", the last great stronghold of rockin' tunes this side of the galaxy!" The radio on the PDA system in the space station's enormous lunch room told the eagerly-listening people within. "Today we got hits from the bands "Evil", "Dingoes Ate My Baby" and "Kung Fucker Chicken". But first, a little special somethin'-somethin'." The radio announcer went on sweetly. They could picture a forced grin, because there was unmistakable distaste lingering below her voice. "Mr. Nexus has a liiiiiiiittle announcement to make to all of you."

With that, she switched control over to HIM. "Contestants!" Nexus's voice rang out as Nick frowned darkly. "I've got good news! And a big, honkin' laser." He added cheerily. "We've got latecomers who are soon to enter the competition! I'll be sure to tell you all about them at the end of this round, but would all contestants please meet with me in my private office until said round begins? I've something to discuss with ALL of you. Come in alphabetical order, please. Oh, and Myo, DON'T BRING THAT STUPID ROBOT." He added. "I hate robots. They're all garbage."

Nick turned to his friend Darth, and the blind irken heard the urgency in Nick's tone. "Darth, you know his schedule back to back, right?"

"Indeed. Once he's finished with these interviews, we can make our move and make sure he never threatens you ever again." Darth insisted.

"...perhaps...I may be able to convince him myself." Nick told them all as he folded his arms and looked up at the floating display screen. "First thing's first though. There's something I didn't tell you all but...something happened when I was on my way back up here. I got a call on my communications line." He told them, gesturing at one of the communications chip which was attached to his VERY round head. The technology was simple enough: it slid onto a cranium as easily as a needle slides into skin, and though the initial application stung heavily, eventually you simply didn't feel it. Technology sure was neat!

"A call? From who?" May asked.

"From Zim." Nick said.

Purple spat out his soda. Darth's eyes widened, almost bugging out. Erin gaped. "ZIM?!" Red whispered. "Is he...is he doing what I think he's doing?"

"What do you think he's doing?" Nick asked, looking slightly amused.

"If what I think is happening is happening...it BETTER NOT BE HAPPENING!" Red stated, slightly hysterically.

"I think it's too late for that." Nick insisted, pointing with a single claw at a figure that many, MANY people were now watching as it tore through the cafeteria towards their table.

You know how, in a crisis, everything seems to go in slow motion?

"My Talleeeeeeeeest!" Zim cried out, stretching his arms wide open.

"Nnnnnooooooooooooooo!" Red cried out, eyes bugging out as he shook his head, sweeping his arms in a "get away, get away" motion as Zim continued to rush at him and Purple, who clung to Red in fear.

"Noooooooot yoooooooouuuuuuuu????!!!!???" Purple sobbed.

And then he promptly hugged the two tightly. "Ooh, I've so much to tell you all!" He insisted.

"Nick, how could you let him come?!" Purple moaned.

"He said he was coming whether I wanted him to or not." Nick insisted. "Anyhow, it's good to see you, Zim." Nick told the short, maroon/ruby-eyed Irken. Despite the fact that Zim was kind of a jerk...okay, a BIG jerk, the Irken was beginning to genuinely change. He was becoming more of a friendly rival than a hateful archenemy to Dibbun Membrane, and he also seemed to have found a human to snuggle up to. He often wrote to Nick talking about Ember, his new lady love, and he'd brought her with him.

She was a nice-looking girl. Headphones around her neck, a "smiley cat" hat atop her head with blue jeans and shy-looking eyes. And her voice...it was quite shy and slightly scared, as if everybody looking at her was ten times more important than she felt she was. "Hi." She nervously got out, waving at them all.

"Hey, Ember." Erin said cheerily. "You and Zim going to the Valentine's Day prom at Earth?"

"Absolutely. I have composed a statement of a ROMANTIC NATURE." Zim said, invisible eyebrows arching up and down, going "Huh? HUH?" in a suggestive fashion as he took out a crumpled piece of paper, cleared his throat, and began reciting from the paper to Erin. "I have decided to begun courting her officially. I shall now read this statement to you, which I will soon read to the ignorant school masses."

"Go ahead." May said, waving her hand in the air.

"Heh-hem. My dearest Ember. You are a handsome specimen of girl. Never have I seen a sharper mind, keener wit, or whiter teeth. May we have an auspicious and harmonious affiliation."

"...okay...uh..." Ember blinked a few times.

"Careful hot lips, you're singing your antennae with your burning poetry." Red laughed, holding his claws over his mouth as he mocked Zim.

"You call that romantic?" Nick asked. He looked mortified.

Ah well, he could honestly not expect TOO much. Zim had had bad experiences with love before and "love" had usually been classified by the Control Brains as a "dangerous" even "defective" emotion. Unless it was love for the Tallest or love of the Irken race, it was not really to be...engaged in. Taboo. In fact, so many emotions like kindness and tolerance and regret had a "block" of sorts around them, sealed away within Irken PAKs. Occasionally Irkens felt these emotions because the blocks would crumble due to the strength of the "dangerous" emotion felt, but usually any kind of feeling that couldn't be re-wired towards the current Irken goal of "Making the galaxy kiss our ass" was to be ignored.

"Well "romantic love" is mostly just made up by men for the subjugation of women." Zim insisted. "What I need is a rational, caring relationship which will keep me focused on what is truly important: taking over the Earth. Period."

"**FOOEY**! You're denying your emotions, lover boy." Nick laughed. Zim had yet to take over Earth and never would. He was so BAD at it. At some point you just had to say "Invader Zim is jinxed".

"You're right. He's right." Ember said. "Brace yourself." She told Zim, grabbing his head and turning her towards him as she planted a kiss right on his lips. SMMMMK!

_**LOVE IS A MANY-SPLENDORED THIIIIIIING!**_

Fireworks shot through the air. Hearts fluttered. Butterflies rose as one as a musical crescendo reached it's peak. And then...silence once again.

"...what was...THAT?" Zim asked, seemingly wowed.

"THAT, my friend, comes with the territory." Nick told Zim, waving cheekily at his wife, who waved back at him. "Now c'mon. Let's hear a love poem."

Zim suddenly grabbed Ember's hand and got down on his knee. "Awaken sweet pea, to early morn, my love for thee so bright, so WARM!" With that, he kissed her hand.

_**LOVE IS A MANY-SPLENDORED THIIIIIIING!**_

Fireworks shot through the air. Hearts fluttered. Butterflies rose as one as a musical crescendo reached it's peak. And then...silence once again.

"Wow." Ember said. "That was good!"

"Not bad, Romeo." Nick told Zim, smiling happily. "Hey...wait." He blinked. "...where'd Trik and Sue get to?"

...

...

...

... "DANG IT!" Sue snapped, slamming her fist into a nearby door. "I don't get it! I lost "the girls", I'm drop dead gorgeous, I'm young, I have a Ferrari, why won't Nick go out with me just ONCE?" She asked Trik as the blue-eyed Irken rubbed his chin as something sat behind him, lookin up at Sue.

"Well, he's married..." Trik began.

Sue let out a raspberry and sneered. "Like THAT'S stopped guys from cheating on their wives with hot, sexy-"

"Moving along...you have an anger problem." Trik went on, jabbing a claw at Sue as she blinked at him, her deeply powerful pink eyes gazing intently at him.

"...what?" She finally asked, looking astonished.

"An anger problem." He repeated.

"I do NOT have an anger problem!" She insisted, standing to the side and folding her arms. "Stuff just pisses me off. A **LOT!**" She told Trik, shaking her head.

The blue-eyed Irken looked amused at this, and knelt down, lifting the red-dreadlocked form of Miki up. "Okay...hold this puppy."

"...wh-what?" Sue asked, turning to look at Trik.

"We're gonna see if you have an anger problem. Hold this puppy." Trik told Sue.

"I'm...I'm not holding the puppy."

**"Hold the freakin' puppy!"** Trik snapped, stuffing Miki into Sue's arms. She blinked, looking the doggy-like creature over.

"...this...isn't...so bad." She admitted.

"You don't feel...mad?" Trik wanted to know, tilting his head to the side slightly, hands on hips.

"No. Actually, this little guy's kinda cute." She admitted, nodding her head. "Who's a little cutie?" She asked, smiling happily at Miki. "With her cute widdle face and cute widdle eyes..."

Meanwhile, the radio over the PDA was now changing to a new song. "And so we just ended with "Kung Fucker Chicken's", "Sexy Is As Sexy Does". Remember, you can find a list of everything we play here on "On Air" at our website, broadcasting live...cuz nobody broadcasts dead! HA! And now, I got a little surprise for all of you, a new song guaranteed to change your life and cure what ails ya. A song so hot, it's the last song you'll ever need. A song so hot, I'm gonna play it nonstop from here to eternity. This song' so hot...it'll make ya do BAAAAD things! Lap it up!" On-Air's announcer Tjazz called out.

CLICK.

_**Boom-da-boom-scree, boom-da-boom-scree! Boom-da-boom-scree, boom-da-boom-scree!**_

Miki stiffened up. Apparently the rhythmic beating of the song was having an effect on her. She immediately blushed as Sue suddenly realized she was panting slightly. She promptly fidgeted around, making Sue drop her, then jumped on top of Sue and started licking her face.

"_Uhoh_." Trik gaped, realizing what Sue was doing. "Ohhhh my."

"GET HER OFF ME, FAST!" Sue screamed. "OH GOD, I'M NOT A **DOG**, YOU SICK LITTLE-"

...

...

...

...Nick entered into Nexus's private room, only to find the main man himself was not there...though a doorway to a hallway alit with circular lights was. He followed the hallway to an enormous room that had some kind of recording equipment set up to a huge computer, and Nexus was looking over what appeared to be footage of...

"I see that you're...married." He noted. "This is you filing for a marriage license. The surprise on the licensor's face makes me think you married an off-worlder. Now I knew LITTLE about your personal life until just recently, but I have found out about your wife and your children. Her name is May Nar, correct?"

Nick folded his arms as Nexus pulled out something round that come from a slot in the machine...a capsule-like thing that pulsed, with two blue container pads on the top and bottom.

"This is all the information I have on her. I personally removed it all from the archives, but I think I could put it to better use than the Tallest. She really has such a nice body. Such sweet, beautiful eyes...a pretty little thing." Nexus went on. "And such adoring children..."

Nick's eyes turned to slits. "Are you...threatening...my family?" He whispered, gesticulating with a hand. "You have the BALLS to call me into your office to blackmail me, you...you **SADIST**?!?" He snarled, using the term the way a Ku Klux Klan member might use the n-word.

"I suggest you do what I tell you to do in the next round and dismember your opponent for the cameras...nice...and...slow." Nexus requested calmly. "Or, well, I have a honkin' big laser." He said, waving a claw in the air cautiously. "I can always find a good target. Your wife and kids...maybe their home...their CITY..."

"You're powerful in certain circles, Nexus. But I can make life difficult for you..._professionally speaking_." Nick stated softly.

"Not convinced." Nexus laughed, waving his hand in the air as he headed for the exit. Suddenly the whine of a blaster charging up stopped him. He realized what Nick was about to do...what the person with a PAK he could not control was about to do.

**"Would you like me to ****convince ****you?!?"** Nick's voice roared out.

The blast shot through the air...the capsule was shattered on the ground as Nexus felt the hand that had held it become hot from the heat of the laser flying through the air. "...you're making a big mistake making an enemy of me." Nexus whispered, waving a claw in the air, his voice turning dark.

"You can threaten my family all you want, but I won't do what you say and I WON'T let you hurt them. My family understands how much my morals mean to me. I wouldn't give up being who I am for ANYONE, and they wouldn't want me any other way. Plus, my wife told me that if I ever gave into blackmail for her, she'd toss me over a cliff." Nick added. He headed for the door as Nexus walked away from him. "Have a nice day." He stated, leaving Nexus alone.

Nexus heard a "beep" come from his communication armband and he held it up, speaking into it with a grin. "You were right. Incorruptible by MY means. But we'll see how he fares in a few rounds."

"On camera. My favorite." Tallest Spork laughed. "Oh, this will be FUN to see how he finds out he's just as screwed up as the rest of us!" He cackled on the other side of the communications channel.

Watching from afar, Frequency's golden eyes narrowed intensely as he raised up a communicator. "I think...it's time...we taught Nexus a lesson. A REAL lesson." He whispered into it.

...

...

...

...to be honest, Regulus, aka Reg, found the whole thing amusing.

He was a one of three people, a triumvirate of power that had something...off...about him. Trillirik's problem was with his mind: he was skilled in the ways of technology, but socially inept and couldn't follow orders well at all. Darithil was blind and, had girly antennae and was most likely somewhat of an Irken hermaphrodite.

The problem with Reg was in his soul.

This green-eyed communications officer...

A smile, lustful and cruel, curled over Reg's lips. He licked them as he watched the beautiful eyes of the Irken gaze out, soft, kindly, brilliantly shining as they gazed at his opponents for the next fight. Soon they'd step into the teleporter and be deposited in random places in their next zone, the water zone. They would be placed upon a beach, perhaps...or maybe on one of the old ships that floated aimlessly in the waters, never to be ridden upon save by those who sought to kill one another...

Ooooh, this one was beautiful, Reg thought happily. "Such a fine body. Not flabby, fairly strong...rather tall, even. Only a foot below me." The seven-foot, brown-eyed Irken mused. "And such beautiful, beautiful eyes...ooooh, he will be good, I can tell." He whispered, licking his lips again as the Irken watched a nervous-looking waitress get inside the teleporter, then step inside a teleportation ring of his own.

The scientist laughed to himself as he stepped inside of the teleporter too, as light filled his vision.

Meanwhile, Nixus was frightened out of her mind. She did not, NOT want to be here. She hated the idea of Blood Sport. She was just a waitress. She had not even been the one the drone seeking contestants had been looking for...but they hadn't cared. They'd kidnapped her anyhow, and now her only hope for survival...her only way to get out of Blood Sport was to survive this round by defeating all the others.

She didn't know a thing about Reg, but she DID know some things about Nick. He'd gotten attention from a lot of people for being so empathic towards his opponents. He had presumably cried over burying his Vortian opponents, and had actually brought Miki back to the space station with him, telling Nexus he'd saved her from Mir and Rasmund's cruelty and that "if anybody wanted to hurt her, they'd have to do it over his dead body."

Nobody had stepped forward. Mostly because Miki had growled and showed off all her impressive fangs. Nixus, however, was nervous.

He did seem...nice. But...but he had still killed his opponents. He had regretted it, clearly, and had even tried to save one out of sympathy, but it was not like she was a dumb animal. She was an Irken, and she doubted he could do anything to-

She noticed something. There was a sound of something carving into something else. Slow, steady strokes of a knife of some...no, a spiked PAK leg. She blinked and carefully made her way across a hillside, fingering the mace in her hands as she peeked over a hill ever-so-slightly, trying to avoid being seen. There was the communications officer, Nick, carving out a...

It was a guitar. He'd made a guitar out of a big piece of driftwood and was now using some string from his own clothes to create something to play upon as he strummed said guitar. Tying the string tightly from one end to another, he stroked the strings, and some musical notes drifted through the air. She could sense a feeling of accomplishment coming from his body as he began to strum.

"Farewell to thee, farewell to thee, thou charming one who dwells amongst the shaded boooowers! One fond embrace, before I now depart, until we meeeet agaaaaain!" He sang out. "And now in HAWAIIAN!" He exclaimed. "Aloha oe, aloha oe, e ke onaona noho ika liiiipo! One fond embrace, A fond embrace, a hoi ae au, untiiiiiil we meeeeeet agaaaaain!"

I can't be distracted by this guy. Nixus thought to herself. I can't allow myself to think that he really is a nice guy. He'd kill me if he got the chance...I have to get him first, before he-

"Hey." Nick said, turning his head to look at her. "You're Nixus, right, nice to meet you." He stated, holding out a gloved hand as he held the guitar with the other. "I'm Nick, I work at-"

She held up her mace. "BACK OFF, BUSTER!" She snapped, making him back towards the ocean. "I ain't falling for your games, okay?"

"Games?" Nick asked.

"Don't think for one moment I don't know what you want." She snapped. "You'd really like to get at me, I'm sure, but I'm not that kind of girl! I won't let you have your way with me!"

"Lady, don't take this the wrong way, I'm sure you're a lovely girl, but...don't flatter yourself, I'm a happily married man." Nick protested, nervously gulping as his boots touched the rim of the ocean.

"I wanna know something from you before I tip you into the brink." She asked of Nick, holding the mace up high. "Why'd you save Miki?" She asked as a camera drone whizzed overhead, catching their conversation.

"I went into this competition to HELP good people and keep bad people from hurting others." Nick said simply. "Miki didn't deserve any cruelty. She's just a little thing." He went on. "I just...I couldn't in all honesty bring myself to leave her there."

Nixus's eyes narrowed. But as she looked intently into his eyes, she was amazed at what she saw. She was a waitress. She could "read" people. Furthermore, she wasn't just some waitress calmly doing her job. Nixus, like Nick, had a secret.

She wrote stories. She wrote stories in longhand on big, fancy white pads of writing paper which she bought in bulk. She wrote about her customers...this was a secret that kept her aching calves and coffee-scalded hands from dragging her down on days when work lasted so, so long...too long, even.

One day she plans to package them all up, bind them in brown paper and send them in. They'll read them and be amazed at her depiction of happy, happy, small-town life. And it'll be her secret how she does it. They think she talks to them so easily because she's a waitress...they never ever know she's a writer gathering material.

And this one. She realizes his story's laid easy before her. It's honest. His eyes are open and honest and simply too gentle.

She lowers the mace. She knows, as a writer, that if a story goes on long enough, it ends in death. But not for this one.

"Sorry." She tells him, apologetically shaking her head as he steps forward and heads back to the guitar, picking it up. "It's just, it can be hard to tell who's on the level."

"I know." Nick admitted. "Hey, know any good-"

He's about to finish the sentence when a net suddenly springs out. It wraps around him. His eyes widen in horror as he's dragged off, dragged up to face HIM.

HIM.

Reg's breath reeks of fresh meat he's just eaten. His tongue licks his lips as he traces one claw over Nick's face, feeling a desire to keep the communication's officers eyes in a mason jar for all eternity.

"I knew I'd catch you sooner or later." He tells Nick in a crooning voice. With that, he laughs and slings Nick over his shoulder as the Irken struggles uselessly to free himself from the drug-tainted net.

"AAAA! NIXUS, HELP!" He screams as Reg's PAK legs activate and he springs off across the beach, heading for a nearby beached ship. He tosses Nick onto the ship and then hops on board. Pulling up the anchor, Reg holds up a cannon from his PAK, unloading it onto the beach, pushing the boat away as Nick screams for help.

Nixus watches him go. She realizes that if she doesn't do something, what started out as an adventure on the high seas will swiftly turn into an erotic fantasy from some dark depths of imagination. She is the only one who can stop this.

She looks left.

She sees a canoe.

RAPTURE.

...

...

...

...Nick was filled with fear. Pants-pissing fear. He was tied to the flagpole of the ship as Reg ran his long, clawed hands down his cheek. The tall scientist was lying atop Nick's legs, one arm wrapped around the flagpole and his captive, the other caressing the communication officer's cheek tender. "I'm **begging** you, don't do this." Nick whispered. "Please, anything but this."

"Why are you so afraid?" Reg whispered softly as Nick shivered under his touch. This...THING before him had stripped him of his clothes and Nick had been too drugged-up from the net to do anything. Now it was night. Now his "faculties" had returned to him. And, unfortunately, it meant he was going to be fully aware of what Reg was going to do to him.

"This is wrong, this is..." Nick began.

"Hussssssh." Reg whispered, placing one claw on Nick's lips. "You should know by now that if it feels good, it's not wrong at all." He insisted, reaching down and feeling Nick's chest.

Nick is too filled with fear to do anything but hyperventilate. He tries to think of something, ANYTHING, but this is the worst case scenario he could have ever imagined. Even being attacked by that big, hulking Shojah...even THAT would have been better than this. At least the Vortian would have just killed him and eaten him, this was beyond cruel...

"See now, here's what's going to happen." Reg went on calmly, licking his lips, unaware of a small canon that was carefully paddling towards his ship. "You're going to give me some real pleasure. I'm going to give you a nice little treat to enjoy with that cute, round little head of yours, and then once that's finished, you're going to learn what it's like to have a superior being make use of you. Aren't you happy?" Reg asked, tilting his head slightly, lifting Nick's chin up. "Think of the pleasure you'll provide to one so tall."

"You're sick." Nick managed to get out. "You're...you're..." He stuttered.

Reg bit into Nick's shoulder, chewing slightly and making him scream as the blood oozed down his shoulder and the foul being's long tongue eagerly lapped it all up. "Ohhhhhh. Wonderful. Just _wonderful_." Reg whispered. "Ooh, don't look so glum." He added, seeing Nick's pain-filled face. "Look at what you're already doing to me." He said, gesturing down.

Nixus had reached the ship. Her fingers found a window and she slipped inside as she pulled herself up, drawing a sharp knife from behind her and carefully opening up the door of the captain's room to sneak towards the turned back of Reg as Nick wept bitterly. For him, there seemed to be no escape. He turned his head to the side in a futile attempt to get away from Reg's claws as the tall Irken grabbed his head and tried to bring it down to-

Nixus brought the knife down first. It sliced across Reg, missing his throat but digging into the nape of his neck. He screeched in horror and pain, staggering away as Nixus blinked in surprise before finally rushing to Nick, cutting through his bonds.

"Thank GOD for waitresses!" Nick decided out loud, hugging her tightly. "You saved my life!"

"You may tip me later." She wisecracked as Reg stood up, snarling angrily. By now he really wished that he'd put his clothing back on, because a moment later she slashed at his face with her knife as Nick ran into the other room to quickly pull his pants and get his weapons. Nixus forced Reg back towards the captain's cabin, punching and kicking him in the stomach. Suddenly he twirled around, dodging a blow and grabbing her tightly, holding her body to his.

"See that?" He whispered, nodding his head over at the bed where the captain slept. "Does it give you...IDEAS, maybe?" He whispered.

"Actually, YES." Nixus decided, kneeing him in the crotch. And unfortunately for him, he'd been spending so much time trying to focus on pleasuring himself, it was now a VERY vulnerable area. He screeched in pain as he reeled back, desperately trying to gain a secure footing as Nixus kicked him into the wall, slicing at him with her knife. He suddenly grabbed her wrist, backhanding her across the face, then kicking her through the wall. She struck the pole of the ship as he pulled out his blaster.

BLAM! One shot struck a piece of flesh off her arm. BLAM! Another one struck her leg and she screamed as she heard her kneecap shatter. BLAM! Another tore off her left antennae.

"Now you'll scream in pain AND pleasure as I-" Reg growled furiously as he pinned her to the pole.

Nick had had enough. He cocked the 45 caliber pistol and hissed, his eyes narrowed. "Alright you PRICK. Back away from the girl now or you die slow instead of fast." He snarled out.

"YOU'RE the one who's going to die slow." Reg laughed coldly as he slowly walked to the side, clawed hands drifting over the gun in his holster as Nick put his own gun in his holster. It was time for an old-fashioned duel. "I'm gonna SCREW you, boy. Like nobody's ever screwed you."

"Uh huh." Nick remarked, looking nonchalant, his eyes now gleaming green and glistening like a curled up snake in the sun. His body was tense, ready to spring, and his gloved hands flickered over the holster of his Colt Anacondas. "Okay."

Silence. Nothing but the waves lapping against the ship as a camera drone calmly circled the ship, catching all the action. Nexus grinned darkly. "Yes...yes, c'mon, blow his brains out right now! He tried to rape you! Get him!"

A voice spoke up. "Sir, somebody left some kind of doll here." His assistant spoke up. "It's a "SIR" unit."

A stupid robot? _Ugh_. "Just bring it to my room, I don't want to miss this!" Nexus said, waving his hand dismissively as he peered at the screen, waiting for-

**BANG!**

"...what was that?" Reg wanted to know, looking left and right.

"Did you...just...miss?" Nixus wanted to know, sounding incredulous.

"No, that was the warning shot." Nick explained calmly, waving a hand in the air.

"WARNING SHOT? You think I'm gonna be scared of something like that?" Reg laughed.

"You should, it's lodged six inches in your squeedly-spooch!" Nick sniggered.

Reg suddenly felt a burning heat situated in his stomach and he gently reached down with a long, clawed finger, brushing his exposed belly...and raising up the finger he found dark green blood oozing out. He licked it...yes...yes, it WAS blood.

"You're _goooood_." He admitted to Nick.

"I know, I know, best aim this side of the galaxy." Nick bragged slightly. "But look, you need medical attention fast. Yeah, you tried to stick your pork and beans in me, but I am gonna try and be as decent to you as possible."

Reg grinned. "You're too kind." He stated. His claws rushed down to his gun holster.

Nick was faster.

**BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!**

He emptied the contents of the Colt Anacondas into Reg's chest, making the would-be-rapist lurch back slightly with very blast, his body shuddering and quaking, chest and stomach ripping open, blood pooling down in a great mass as his form was torn to pieces. Finally he stood there, hunched over, blood oozing down from his mouth as he looked up at Nick, his eyes widening in horror.

"Daaaaaaamn." He moaned.

"Happy Valentine's Day." Nick wisecracked, twirling his guns and sheathing them in their holsters as Reg finally slumped to the ground, his head coming to rest on the floor of the ship in the pool of blood and spilled-out organs below, landing with a "SQUELCHA-TWHULP".

"Damn, where'd you learn to **shoot **like that?" Nixus wanted to know.

"Natural talent, practice, and years of FPS games. See, I happen to do the Shooting Gallery Circuit on Arcadia every year, and I'm number 2. And I'm pretty sure Reg wasn't **FIRST**!" Nick insisted. "He drew a gun on me after I offered to spare him. I won't shoot somebody in cold blood, but I couldn't let him kill me or hurt you. I gave him a chance." Nick said, looking the body over and shaking his head. "Just...I just wish he'd taken it."

"Well, let's get back to the Space Station." Nixus stated, nodding her head.

"Sure thing, but first thing's first." Nick turned to the camera drone and pointed straight at it. "Okay, Nexus. You got a bloody death out of me, and I hope to God it's the only one I give to anybody. Now I want you to do me a favor and let this nice young lady go free. AND...I want you to apologize right now."

"...what. Did. You. Say." Nexus whispered darkly, claws gripping into the armchair he was resting in at the moment.

"I saaaaaaid...apologize." Nick asked, folding his arms.

"...fine." Nexus mumbled. "I...apologize...for bringing you into Blood Sport." He told Nixus. "And I'll give you a free t-shirt."

"That'll do, pig. That'll do." Nick commented.

"Let me ask you something though." Nexus wanted to know. "How did it feel killing him?"

"...what?"

"How...did it FEEL?" Nexus asked calmly. "Did it feel "right"? Just?"

"Well...yes." Nick remarked.

Nexus smiled and placed his hands together. "You'll "get" it eventually." He assured Nick. "Just as I "got" it. But until you do...I will wait. And we will see...just how far you'll go."

...

...

...

...Nexus muttered angrily as he walked off to his room, tossing his cloak away as he sat down on his bed, noticing the SIR unit doll on the nearby bedstand. He rolled his eyes and began to take off his clothes, not noticing that the SIR unit was slowly getting closer to him...closer...CLOSER...

Finally as he took off his shirt he noticed that the SIR unit was located right near his feet. "...how'd YOU get over here?" He asked.

"I'm GIR and I really like you!" GIR stated.

"Well, I don't' like you, ya little stupid trash-head." He told the thing. "I hate robo-"

"I'm GIR and I was gonna do **HORRIBLE THINGS** to you when you were asleep!" GIR went on in a slightly creepy voice, his eyes glowing red.

"...that's an...odd thing...to say..." Nexus commented, looking disturbed.

"I'm GIR and I feel better when I see the red water come out." GIR added.

"...alright, I'm gonna just take out the batteries from you and-" Nexus suddenly gulped as he felt behind GIR'S body.

"I'm GIR, and I really don't like the way you're treating my friends..." GIR's smile was the work of demons. _"Mr. Nexus."_

"GAAAH!" He screamed, running for the bathroom and panting. "Okay, okay, calm down." He said, washing his face with cleaning fluid. "You didn't really see that. It was just an illusion. You gotta...you gotta stay-"

He gasped at the sight of a drawn picture on his bathroom mirror. It was of him being hung from a tree, and it was beneath writing in what he HOPED was ketchup of the word "WHY".

"Oh Mr. Neeeeexuuuuuus!" GIR's voice called out, his head peeking in from the side as he stared into the bathroom, his eyes returning to their light blue color. "WHY did you say all those mean things about my friends?"

"...you're not real. You're...just a thing that's...not very real!"

"Not real? Oh, POOPY." GIR said, pouting. "Then I guess I can't do THIS then."

His eyes turned red and he lunged at Nexus's crotch.

CHOMP.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Nexus screamed, swinging his body around, trying to get GIR off as the sadistic little thing laughed over and over. At last he managed to tug GIR off and he ran for the kitchenette in his suite, pulling out a knife and panting, holding it close to his body. He looked left and right, heaving in great breaths as he heard GIR's insane giggling.

"_I just wanna __**plaaaaaaaay**_." GIR called out.

"You freaky little thing! GET AWAY FROM ME!" He screamed.

Then he turned around to see GIR lunging for his head and he screeched like a girl as GIR began gnawing at his face, trying to eat his helmet.

"GET OFF ME!" He screamed as GIR kept crunhing down on his helmet, his clawed hands reaching for the knife he'd dropped.

"Why don't you just DIE?" GIR asked cheerily.

Then it happened. His hands clasped around the smooth handle of the knife. He swept it forward, knocking GIR off, then raised it high, bringing it down, slicing and cutting, SCHUCKA-SCHUCKA-SHCUCKA...

Done. The robot was decapitated. Taking a deep breath, Nexus sighed and headed for his bedroom. He smiled happily as he flopped into the bed, snuggling under the covers and resting his head against his pillow as he took his helmet off.

The robot's body twitched slightly.

...

...

...

...Nexus awoke to the cocking of a pistol's hammer and he found he had a semiautomatic in his mouth.

"Now, are you gonna stop screwin' around with Nick and my master's friends or am I gonna hafta get **NASTY**?" GIR asked cheerily.

_"I'll stop."_ Nexus squeaked out, mouth half-full of semiautomatic.

...

...

...

...

Reg's body lay still upon the ship. But it was not too long before it began to burn with dark flames, embers rising into the air as Reg slowly stood up, sniggering madly.

"It's...not over. Not...until I say so." He whispered darkly, licking his lips.


	6. Girl on Girl on Girl!

_Yree belongs to **letmetellyoulies. **Renee is owned by **PrettyRose** Tallest Black to **cgs-blackspace**, Caim belongs to **InvaderCaim**_, _while Jana is **Zim'sMostLoyalServant**'s pride and joy and Erin is, well, Erin Nightshade's! Remember that now. _

* * *

_**BLOOD SPORT, ROUND 5:  
Erin vs. Yree and Renee**_

_**

* * *

  
**_

_One week out of every year on Irk is designated "National Brotherhood Week", another week honoring a very worthy cause. During this week certain events are arranged to bring home the message of brotherhood. For example in the first recorded "National Brotherhood Week", Blood Sport began, which gives you an idea on how effective the whole thing really IS! _

_

* * *

  
_

"Oh yes, oh yes. I am unbelievable. I am your Jesus." Nexus remarked as he waved happily to the crowd of Irken citizens who were cheering as he prepared to give another speech about Blood Sport at the Space Station. "As you all know, we've seen some really, REALLY excellent fights." He commented, clapping his hands as a vid-screen lowered near his form to show off clips of the various brawls that had ensued. "And now, I've got some extra-special news for all of you!" He informed the people happily.

"Wrestling is fake?"

"I'm not pregnant?"

"He who smelt it dealt it?"

"No, no, nothing like that. We've...got new contestants." Nexus explained, spreading his arms wide. "NEW CHALLENGERS TO THIS GLORIOUS COMBAT!"

The people cheered and hollered with joy as Nick, standing by May, gently squeezed her hand, then felt her womb, and the large bulge there. Soon...very soon...

"And I could tell you all about them, if I wanted to, but why should **I** do it when they can introduce themselves?" Nexus laughed, holding one hand in the air. A platform lowered from the glass ceiling above, allowing the new challengers to Blood Sport into the enormous hall as smoke machines produced an eerie cloaking effect.

"See? They're goin' wild! What did I tell you?" Purple asked Red, grinning broadly. "PAY UP, bitch!" He demanded, holding out his claws. Red muttered and placed a few monies in his "heterosexual life partner's" hand.

"A few people here may recognize these faces, but I adivse you to hold all possible questions...and insults," he added with a nod. "...until all of our lovely new fighters are introduced." Nexus went on.

And the first person who stepped forward made Nick gasp...though Red and Purple's eyes widened with horror and Purple suppressed a scream.

It was a Tallest. And it was not just any Tallest. It was the dirty little secret that Red and Purple had kept hidden for YEARS. A former Elite-in-Training was always the first in the Military Training Academy on the Irken Planet Devastis, during Miyuki and Spork's reign. The person who SHOULD have been Tallest after Spork's death, had it not been for the fact that the scheming Red had screwed with his personal ship and sent him into a Black Hole, hoping he'd bite the big one.

Nexus smirked broadly. "Meet former Almighty Tallest-"

"Black." Nick whispered. He was one of the few people who knew about the secret. Red and Purple had divulged it to him a few weeks ago because of their concern over who would become Tallest after them. They'd always said they'd never want "That jackass Black" to be in charge. THIS was that "jackass"?

He was only a centimeter taller than Red and Purple, and his eyes had steely intelligence to them. He wore a cape which draped down from his shoulders, and a slightly amused-looking expression appeared on his features as he glanced out at Red and Purple. He reminded Nick of "Blofeld" from the "James Bond" films. There was malice lurking on his features, oozing off of him. He was here for one reason, Nick was sure. And that reason was revenge.

"And now, we have, for your pleasure, another excellent combatant. Please welcome Invader Elite Caim!" Nexus cheered.

"Caim?" May frowned slightly. "...I've...heard that name before." She stated. "But where?" She wondered.

Nick looked Caim over. He was a fairly tall Irken...five feet, he guessed. A blue cloaked outfit with black –clothed arms and legs and antennae that were so long, they almost reached the ground. He had a four-pointed black star tattoo upon his forehead, and apparently the sight of him was making Red and Purple even more nervous.

"What's wrong?" Darth inquired, gently patting Purple on the side.

"...we approved...a few...experiments. A long time ago. We were...we know they were wrong now, but...he's one of them." Purple squeaked out. "He's gonna kill us." He added, holding Red tightly.

"And now for a pair of lovely lady contestants I think you'll enjoy seeing in this competition...behold!" Nexus stated as the fog cleared away to reveal a girl.

One was an Irken, and for some reason, Zim thought...she was looking at HIM. Ember looked at the Irken female, then back at Zim. "Do you know her?"

"No, I do NOT, yet...I am feeling...deja vu." He decided. "Very strange."

The Irken had rather dark green eyes and was wearing a black bodysuit and cloak, filled with hidden pockets. She was fairly tall, he imagined about...maybe 5 and a half feet? What struck Ember was how obsessively DANGEROUS she seemed. There was a glint of something in her eyes. Something maniacal. Fanatic.

EVIL.

But then the smoke cleared away from the last girl and they all gasped, gulped, or stammered.

It was ERIN.

"What..."

"The..."

The next word was muffled by Erin's cheerful yell of "HEY GUYS!" as she enthusiastically waved her arm out at the crowd, noticing her friends in the distance.

"Oh GOD, oh GOD, oh GOD!" Nick gasped. "She's gonna go down like a freakin' RED SHIRT!" He complained.

"You do know that ALL Irken Invaders are wearing red shirts?" Ember spoke up. "...wait, this means...oh CRAP, none of you guys are safe!" She realized, looking at Zim. "You could die at any moment!"

Zim laughed. "HA! Nothing can kill Zim!"

"How 'bout stranding you on Jupiter?" Red wondered.

"Whatwasthat?" Zim asked.

"Nothin'." Red commented calmly, shrugging.

"We gotta STOP her! She'll get herself killed out there!" Purple insisted. He then noticed that a blue-furred being was tapping his arm. "What?"

"I have a letter to read from Nexus." Frequency asked. "In private? Let's go to the lounge, dudes and dudettes. You MIGHT start freakin' out when ya hear what it says."

He led them down the hallway and they made a turn to the staff lounge, sitting on various couches and chairs as Frequency stood in the center of the room by a table that had GIR sitting atop it, chewing on a muffin. "He-hem." He cleared his throat. "You stuck a gun in my mouth. Now I'm sticking your friend in Blood Sport. Also, if Zim, Ember, May, Red, Purple, your stupid robot friend, your blind buddy and ESPECIALLY Nick try anything, I'll fire my laz0r and blast her into pieces." Frequency read off from the letter. "Major bummer, dudes."

"Oh dear." Darth mumbled, holding his head in his hands.

"The fight's going to begin in an hour, correct? We can SURELY think of something in that time." Zim insisted, waving a dismissive hand in the air.

Ember nuzzled his head with her own and he let out a happy murr. "Aw, you're so smart." She said softly.

"You two have such a sweet little hormonal relationship." Red admitted.

"Guys, focus." Nick stated. "We need to do something about Erin. But...what? How can we get here out of there?"

"Maybe we won't need to. All she has to do is play it cool and she'll be..." May protested.

They all looked at her, frowning slightly.

"...okay, you're right. She's in deep dooky." May admitted sadly, shaking her head and holding it in her own hands as well, joining Darth.

"THINK, guys! **THINK**!" Nick insisted, clenching his fists. "We have to do SOMETHING!"

"But we can't do anything or he'll blast her into a crater. A big...squishy...crater." Red murmured.

"YOU can't do anything." Frequency admitted.

"Yes, that's right, we can't do anything. I see you enjoy repeating what others say, k'torimik." Zim told the bounty hunter in a disdainful, disrespectful tone.

"...GOD, you're just as dumb here as..." Frequency placed his four-digited paw on his head then scratched the red, bandanna/cap atop his head. "Look. YOU guys...HERE...ya can't do nothin'. But what about people who ain't here? Other guys? Other bros you got who could do you a solid?"

"...from the mouths of surfer boys." Darth commented. "SKOODGE! How did we not think of Skoodge? Nexus didn't mention him! And he's on Blorch with Tenn right now, but if we call him up..."

"Can he do it, though?" Red asked.

"Skoodge knows his stuff. He's very skilled, you know that." Nick insisted. "He's one of the best Invaders I've ever known!"

"Yes, but he's not nearly as good as ZIIIIM!" Zim proclaimed, slamming his fist into his chest. "Though adequate in comparison to me. Adequate. Still, adequacy is not enough! Let's just let Erin destroy those idiotic fools on their-"

"Oh...my...GOD." Nick gasped. "You're JEALOUS of Skoodge!" He realized, laughing. "I should have seen it years ago! He got all your girlfriends that you "loaned out" to him, he always did better than you in the tests, he was just more-liked than you and he conquered a planet before you did. And now you don't wanna ask him for help because you don't want another thing on the "list of things Skoodge did that Zim couldn't do"."

"Jealous? Of a being who's name means "LUMP"? I think not." Zim stated, waving his hand in the air.

"Darth?" Nick asked the psychic.

"Jealous."

"Ta-DA." May said, snapping her fingers in the air. Zim seethed. "So how fast do you think he can be down on the planet?" May asked as Nick tapped his communications chip.

"Let's find out." Nick stated with a grin.

"...HMPH." Zim muttered, folding his arms and turning away.

"Oh, don't be upset, Zim. You can save the damsel in distress next ti-oh." They noticed that Jana was peering into the room. She saw them, nervously saluted, then walked off. Nick blinked. "...you know...I think I've SEEN her somewhere before." He admitted. "...I've seen those eyes before..."

...

...

...

...the forest region. It was not quite like the jungle region, though similar in greenness. But where the jungle was lush and full of life, the forest was dark. Foreboding. Frightening in it's emptiness, it was an abyss that threatened to suck all into it. Low hills led down to a dirty road that led the competitor through the forest as Erin, knives hidden in a toolbelt underneath her shirt, a defensive shock-pole strapped to her back, made her way down this forest, looking left and right.

She was nervous. Very nervous.

The Aroseans, her own race, had lived peaceful lives. Provided they didn't get themselves bumped off in battle or accidentally stepped into traffic or something, they could live forever. It was because of this that they were all pacifists to a certain extent. After all, why get into a fight with somebody when you could just talk things out? Discuss options? Compromise. It was stupid to fight with anybody, fighting was a last resort and didn't provide lasting results.

Unfortunately their race was a good example of what happened to the enlightened and peaceful: picked upon by the armed and dumb. The Dune Elites had wiped their race out simply because they hated the pacifistic lifestyle of the Aroseans.

And, to be honest, this made Erin...a bit...angry.

In fact, it made her very angry. Those monsters had refused to allow themselves to be judged by Star Command, police of the galaxy, saying that they had no right to interfere and pass judgement. "Our moral standards are different than yours. Go screw yourselves". Was the reply they'd given.

In response, Star Command annihilated their fleet, thus proving that if you were going to try and use a bullshit excuse to justify the worst sort of cruelty that exists in the galaxy, you should at least try and be polite about it and not give an "eff you" to people who's gun barrel you're looking down.

And, unfortunately, though their fleet was gone, the Dune Elites were still living, incarcerated, on their home planet, never to leave again. Eternally watched by Star Command...but Erin felt angry as she thought about this. She'd wanted more. Those people had murdered her people, her own parents, and for what? A conflict of ideals?

A crack of a nearby branch. She jumped back, holding up her shock pole as a figure emerged from the bushes, looking Erin over. "Ah, the newcomer."

It was a Vortian with light grey skin...or perhaps "hide" would have been a better term. She had horns that curled back slightly before dropping straight down, then curling forward, with large hands that had sharp claws. She had powerful-looking legs a serious glint in her pink-toned eyes, with two scars over her left eye that had been burnt onto her. In Irken, they read "PIN" and "Scum". One after the general who had done it to her...the other based off of his opinion of her. "Renee." Erin realized.

"Tell me something, kid." Renee asked calmly. She had a slightly gruff voice, and was looking at Erin with a tiny hint of pity that was breaking through the stone wall that was her visage. "Why are you involved in this?" She asked.

"My husband, Red. I want him to see that I don't always need protecting. That I can defend myself. I want to make myself worthy of somebody as loving as him." Erin stated.

"...Tallest Red's wife...here before me. You come to judgment of your own volition?" Renee asked, eyes widening. And then her claws clenched and unclenched as she tensed her body up._ "What a glorious day this is!"_ She whispered darkly.

"Huh?" Erin blinked.

Unfortunately Renee didn't give Erin any more reason as to why she was attacking. She rushed forward and slashed at Erin with her claws, forcing the Arosean to jump backwards. She continued to jump at Erin as the red-haired humanoid blocked with her shock-rod, twirling it around to keep the assault from striking her.

"You're naïve and foolish!" Renee laughed. "You've never fought in a battle before, have you?" She wanted to know, suddenly getting in a good strike to Erin's stomach and knocking her through the air and into a tree. Erin groaned as she slid down it, with Renee jumped up at her, foot held high to crash down and crush Erin's head.

"Guess I am pretty foolish...forgot to turn this ON." Erin commented, suddenly swerving the shock-rod up. It struck Renee's foot and an electrical burst of raw power flooded through the Vortian's body, forcing her to go flying back, stimulus crackling off her body. "Didn't expect THAT, huh?" Erin asked as she twirled her electro-rod.

"Hmm." Renee muttered as she stood back up, twitching a little. With that, she rushed forward at Erin, claws held back up, ready to tear. The danse macabre began anew, Erin twirling and swirling around, dodging the sharp assault of the Vortian before jumping clear over Renee, then twisting around, slamming the shock-rod into her leg.

"GAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Renee screamed, hitting the ground as Erin held the shock-rod at Renee's face.

"I'm not gonna kill you." She said as a camera drone lowered itself from the sky to look over the scene. "Just say you surrender. I'll let you go." She offered. "I don't want to become a killer like the Dune Elites who murdered my entire race over some stupid ideal. I refuse to kill just to get what I want."

"How noble." Renee spoke softly. "The resolve not to kill is a very brave and touching sentiment. But you're foolish." She stated, standing up and carefully pushing the shock rod aside quickly, then lowering her head.

BAM!

Her horns struck into Erin's stomach and Erin screamed as she doubled back, dropping the shock rod and hitting the ground, groaning in immense pain as Renee stood above. "Actually following the policy of not killing an opponent on the battlefield is just handing your opponent an easy opening." She continued on. "Such naïveté...such a soft nature." Renee said, shaking her head. "No wonder your kind were wiped out. You're all too damn...nice." Renee commented. "And to think, that monster Red married YOU?"

"No." Red whispered, his eyes widening in horror. "_No_."

She kicked Erin in the face, and some blood flew out from her mouth as Erin rolled into a hill, trying to stagger up as Renee picked up the shock rod and slammed it into Erin, knocking her to the ground again. "I should kill you now. You'll be better off...and with your race once again."

"I'm sorry, Red...for looking like this." Erin whispered.

"Erin, you could never disappoint me..." Red insisted, knowing she could hear him in her heart.

"But I'm not losing just YET!" Erin yelled, suddenly rushing up and slamming her body into Renee, knocking them both the ground. The two of them rolled around on the ground, with Erin punching and whacking a Renee as the Vortian floundered around, trying to get a good bead on Erin and slash her.

Then...

CRACK!

Their heads shot up. They blinked and saw a tree come crashing down, pushed down by a pink-eyed, sadistic-looking shorty of a female Irken who had a very big, rather nasty smile. Her fishhook-shaped antennae bobbed as she watched Erin and Renee scramble out of the path of the tree and she calmly tossed a wicked-looking carving knife up and down in the air.

"Who the heck are you?" Erin asked.

"Yree." Yree stated simply. "So, you're my opponents, huh? Fuck, thought that the tree woulda squished you. Guess not. Oh well." She shrugged. They noticed something rather...disturbing about her. She seemed to have rather sharp teeth. Sharper than Darth's were, in fact, and he was the kind of person who enjoyed flashing his sharp teeth for the sake of making a "dark joke". Of course, this could have simply been the fact that her creator shows ALL Irkens with sharp-

"Don't break the Fourth Wall!" Renee shouted angrily.

"Huh?" Erin asked.

"Trust me, kiddo, he knows what I'm talking about."

Okay, okay, I'll stop. (For now.)

"I HEARD that!" Renee yelled.

"I hope they're careful." Red stated as he pointed with a claw at the vid screen that he and the others were watching of the fight from the staff lounge on board the space station. "They're very close to rolling down that-"

Yree leapt forward and all three girls went spiraling back.

"Hill." Red finished as the threesome rolled down the hill, finally landing with a SQUELCH-PLORP in a dirty, nasty-looking miniature lake of mud.

"Oh God, look at them go!" Frequency stated and they began squirming and tussling in the mud. "Look at them so tightly gripping onto each other their...bodies...pressed together..."

"Their...forms so...**lubricated**..." Zim mumbled.

"Heaving their large-breasted bodies as they touch one another..." Red added. "Pulling on their hair and...horns...all covered in mud..."

By now they were stammering, drool coming down from their mouth and quivering as Nick closed his eyes. "I'm a married man, I'm a married man, I'm a married man!" He repeated.

"Lord, I wish I could see." Darth remarked. He grabbed ahold of the nearest warm body nearby, Zim, and was soon seeing through HIS mind. "...oooooooh."

"Look at them getting all...DIRTY and....all that mud is forcing the clothes so TIGHTLY to their bodies, revealing their slim physiques..." Purple went on as the ladies grunted and heaved and moaned, trying to drag their competitors into the mud.

"Biting and clawing at each other, giving into their animal instincts like CATS, clawing and screaming..." Sue remarked, looking rather turned-on by all of this as she licked her lips.

"Ooh yeah!"

"Oh my GOD!"

"OH YES, OH YES!"

"**WOOHOO! WOOHOO**!"

"Oh yes, you're a dirty little kitty, **yes, you're a DIRTY little**-"

BANG!

A gunshot erupted through the room and Nick lowered his Colt Anaconda, the TV screen blown to bits. "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do." He stated calmly.

"**OHHHHH**." Everyone else whined.

"Oh, who asked YOU?!" Nick snapped at them, leaving the room and noticing Jana was ducking into a nearby hallway. He blinked a few times, then followed after her, noticing that she was looking over something in her hands.

"Hello?" He asked.

She turned to look him over. "What do you want?" She asked, slightly annoyed.

"I'm sorry, it's just, you look REALLY familiar. Have I seen you somewhere before?" Nick wanted to know.

"I doubt it...human." Jana stated calmly, smiling.

"...how'd you figure it out?" Nick asked, folding his arms, looking intrigued.

"Your mannerisms...and your eyes. They're too soft and gentle. Not hard enough. And no self-respecting Irken would marry _skaatel_." She shuddered. "Though, unfortunately, dearest lord Zim has disgraced himself by allowing one to enter his heart..."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Why do you even CARE?" He asked. "He's not your boyfriend. And what's wrong with humans?"

"Our race is FAR technologically superior. We have conquered dozens of species!"

"What does that have to do with morality?" Nick wanted to know.

"We've unlocked some of the mysterious of life itself with our immense knowledge of the stars!"

"That's nice, but what does that have to do with morality?" Nick wanted to know.

"We've amassed military forces that make even STAR COMMAND tremble!" Jana said proudly, holding up her claws and grinning in a defiant fashion.

"AGAIN, I'll say, what does that have to do with morality?" Nick still wanted to know.

"I'm not going to be judged by a mere human! Our moral standards are far different from yours." Jana said dismisvvely.

"Yes, and look where your empire is now." Nick stated calmly. "Ruled by two snack-obsessed idiots who think somebody being shoved out an airlock is funny. And don't get me wrong, I love those guys, they're really swell, but they ARE kind of big jerks." He insisted. "The galaxy isn't afraid of you. They hate you." He said. "Would it REALLY hurt just to try and show some compassion?"

"Ohhh, it hurts, it hurts!" Jana moaned, holding her stomach and walking off, laughing.

"...wait. I HAVE seen that FACE before and heard that name!" Nick realized, racing to a nearby computer lab and bringing up old archives. He checked through a list and found what he was looking under in a list of "Commissions paid by Tallests". Specifically, under artwork...

"_JANA_." He said, slamming his fist into the desk. There was her name, under a list of pictures and paintings done to show things like people being surrounded by Slaughtering Rat People, others showing people on couches, a few others fighting off rock monsters, others proudly holding up flags...all done to help inspire future soldiers.

Meanwhile, Yree was kicking the s—t out of Renee as Erin snuck away as stealthily as possible. The poor Vortian lay on the ground as Yree kicked and kicked at the Vortian like she was trying to get a soda out of a vending machine. Renee's body shuddered with each blow as Yree cackled madly, continuing her vicious assault.

THWUCK!

A rock to the head made her stop, and she hit the mud as Erin dropped the rock to the ground, helping Renee up. "Why'd you...do...do that?" Renee muttered.

"The resolve not to kill." Erin stated simply.

"..." Renee said nothing as she stepped back from Erin, looking at her. But then Yree tackled Erin to the ground, licking her lips.

"Ooh, you sure do look tasty..." She admitted, licking Erin's cheek with her long tongue.

"How about letting me go?"

"No, but if you give me two million monies I'll give you the best fuck of your life!" She told Erin.

"...how about for just five monies?" Erin wanted to know.

Yree frowned darkly at her. "Hey, what kind of person do you think I am?!"

"I already know THAT, now we're just discussing price." Erin commented, and with that she kneed Yree in the chest, making her go flying back. Angrily snarling, Yree jumped back up, holding up two knives as Erin held up two knives of her own and Renee took up a fighting position against both Erin and Yree.

BLAM!

A shock-gun blast, sparkling like blue lightning, struck Yree in the side and sent her flying backwards through the air. Erin and Renee gaped at the sight of a short, squat Invader with maroon/ruby eyes like Zim, who had a slightly messy outfit and who was holding up a purple-colored plasma rifle, a "TIAR-21". It had a handguard of grey with several cooling vents on either side of the main body of the gun, to prevent overheating. Skoodge, holding it up proudly, looked surprisingly heroic for somebody so short.

"Skoodge!" Erin yelled out happily, running over to him and hugging him tightly.

"Invader Skoodge? The one who conquered Planet Blorch, home of the Slaughtering Rat People?" Renee wanted to know, looking interested.

"Uh, yep. That's me." Skoodge said, nervously smiling.

Renee folded her arms, frowning slightly. "...hmm." She finally said. Skoodge wasn't a cruel being like some of the other Invaders. High-spirited and eager to please, but in general a very nice, agreeable person, even by non-Irken standards. Plus, she had expected him to be...taller. He hardly looked impressive. "Here to help your lady friend?"

"Nexus said that if any of her friends on the Space Station tried to help her, he'd obliterate her from a laser cannon above the planet. But I was on Vort when I was called, on my honeymoon with Tenn." Skoodge explained. "Took me a while to get here, but..."

Yree snarled angrily as she jumped over a nearby rock. "Ooh, you're gonna get it NOW!" She roared out.

"I'll take her down." Skoodge said, holding up the blaster as Erin looked at Renee.

"A fair fight then?" She asked Renee. "Have I earned it?"

"...you've earned it." Renee decided. "Sorry for looking down on you. I'll stop treating you with disdain." She took up a fighting position as Erin did the same. "You have earned my respect, and I'll grant you a warrior's death."

"I'm gonna rip your antennae off and make you EAT them, bitch!" Yree sniggered evilly as she drew the blade over her tongue, hissing with delight.

"I won't...let you hurt...my friends." Skoodge stated, eyes turned to dark slits, all traces of his good humor gone. He was in "Mission Mode" now. All business.

**BGM: Force Your Way, by The Black Mages**

As the camera drones circled around to catch all of the action, Nexus grinned darkly to himself from the control room on the space station. "Ooh, how interesting." He whispered. "This IS too good! And maybe I should...yes, I think I'll just fire the orbital satellite laser anyway once this is over." He stated, motioning for an assistant to remove the protective seal over the central space laser controls. He laughed horridly as the four opponents faced each other down.

Yree pointed her knife at Skoodge, grinning with sadistic pleasure, and then raced forward, as Skoodge extended his PAK legs and jumped back, firing off the blaster at her. He leapt into the air, launching more and more blasts of plasma in her direction as she swerved left and right to dodge. Meanwhile, Erin jumped forward at Renee, doing a sweeping kick, which Renee blocked with her arm.

Retaliating with a suddenly kick to the stomach, Erin re-righted herself in midair and leapt back at Renee, this time connecting with her head and knocking her back. Renee then grinned as she too re-righted herself in midair, taking up a fighting position as she and Erin circled.

"I can't wait to get a look at your blood!" Yree hissed as she raced forward, slicing at Skoodge as he jumped backwards over and over as Erin and Renee kicked and punched at each other, spinning around rapidly as they struck.

"Back OFF!" Skoodge roared out, pressing down on a switch on his blaster as it's muzzle elongated, transforming into a large semi-automatic barrel. He unloaded a fierce barrage of plasma as Yree was forced to cartwheel back, laughing all the while as Skoodge rushed forward, roaring at her.

BAM! Renee knocked Erin through the air and Erin landed on the ground. She tried to get up, but Renee slammed her horns into Erin's side, knocking her across the ground once again as Yree tossed her knife and it struck the gun Skoodge was carrying. He gasped and tossed it away just before it exploded, and his PAK legs shot out, slicing and dicing at Yree as one sliced through her shoulder and leg, making her gasp in pain.

"It's over!" Renee stated as she rushed forward at Erin, who suddenly rolled out of the way, grabbing a nearby rock. She threw it, but it bounced off of Renee's horns, making the Vortian frown. "Did you really think that was going to work?" She asked.

"No...but THIS will!" Erin stated, hands going to her belt as she rushed forward.

Yree snarled and yanked the PAK legs out of her body, throwing another knife that caught Skoodge in the chest. He gasped in pain, reeling back as she rushed forward and sliced him across the chest in a harsh sweeping motion, making the blood pool down below. Sneering, she raised the knife up, licking the blood from her face off with her long tongue.

Renee rushed forward at Erin, fist held up...

And Erin met that fist with a knife. Renee screamed, holding her hand in pain as she reeled back...

SCHWULMP!

And Yree gasped as Skoodge lowered the hidden blaster he'd had tucked away in his boot. She looked down at the bloodied hole in her chest as Skoodge stared out through the other side of her, putting the gun away. Pink eyes turning pure white, Yree hit the ground with a squelchy THUD as Erin pointed a knife down at Renee. "Give up?" She asked.

"...I...yield." Renee said finally, bowing her head.

(Music ends.)

As his chest gem glowed ominously, Nexus snarled angrily and slammed his hands down onto the desk before him. "DAMMIT!" he roared furiously. "DAMMIT, DAMMIT, DAMMIT! Something always HELPS those idiots!" He roared out. But then the frown turned upside down, into a wicked grin. "On the other hand, I can just order that big ol' honkin' laz0r fired..."

He turned to his assistants, whom he had no actually looked at since ordering them to ready the laser cannon, being so engrossed in the fight. "Alright, fire on my-what...the...."

His assistants were now dressed up in various Hawaiian and Caribbean shirts. Many wore shorts and some had big, floppy sunhats while a few others had sunglasses on. The one at the laser button was smoking a joint, head bobbing back and forth as his tinted sunglasses slipped down. "How does it feel when you got no herb? Pass the koutchie 'pon the left hand side..."

"What in the hell?!?" Nexus complained. He then felt somebody tapping on his shoulder and turned around to see the blood-stained teeth of one very particular experimental bounty hunter.

"What part of "leave our friends alone" did you fail to grasp?" He asked, licking the blood off his very sharp teeth.

"How long is he gonna be in there with him?" Purple asked as Zim played a video game Ember had bought for him for "Game Slave 3".

"Two hours ought to do it." Red decided.

"HA! Space Invaders! Puny huuuumans!" Zim sniggered.

...

...

...

... "You're an artist." Nick stated, pointing at Jana as she stood by a vending machine.

"You're a boob. What're we doing, exactly?" Jana responded, looking a bit annoyed as she glanced at Nick.

"_Les jeux sont faits_. Translation: the plays are made. The game is up. I know you're an artist. You used to do commissions to inspire future Irkens to achieve greatness. I saw your "Be A Scientist" work during Miyuki's reign. VERY nicely expressions, and such detail on the clothing."

"Oh, yeah, that." She nodded her head, sipping a soda. "I used to be an artist, yeah, but I chose this life of being an assassin-in-training because it's a bit more glamorous." She remarked.

"...you've got red on you." Nick remarked, pointing at some blood that obviously wasn't hers which was on her boots.

"Oh, yeah. See, this Invader was chewing a candy bar and I shot him."

"..."

"It was MY candy bar." She defended, walking off down the hallway, sipping her soda.

"...hmm." Nick murmured, rubbing his chin.


	7. Burning Desert Brawl!

_Now then..Lox is property of **enigmatia** and Kalte is property of **The Bubble Ninja** at Deviantart. Frequency is somebody I personally own on my own. And Ember is based off of the character Ember that belongs to **Zim's Best Friend**, who's work can be found here on . _

_**

* * *

BLOOD SPORT: ROUND 6  
**_

_**Jana vs Kalte vs Black **_

_**

* * *

**I knew that when I married Nick I was going to endure insults from many, many sides. But I didn't care, because love is love. And we love Love. I love everything about it. It's often the source of everything that's good in this world. Sympathy, mercy, compassion, kindness, these are all forms of Love. A parent's love for their child, the love that two sweethearts have for each other, the love families share, the love that bonds friends together, the love that links human to fellow human, the adoration of Nature and all things in it, the devotion to God..._

_**LOVE...IS...AWESOMESAUCE. **_

_But...unfortunately, though love does more good than bad in the world, obsessive love is the reason why SHE'S here. I've seen it in her eyes...  
_

_**

* * *

**_

They had been talking about Blood Sport. They'd been far, far out in space. They'd not expected IT to suddenly appear on their ship.

"Who...are you?" The goggle-wearing Vortian had whispered in fear at the being that pitilessly grinned at him, claws digging into his head as he was lifted up.

"Heh. Call me..."

Crushing, agonizing pain. A scream that died before it could get out. A horrified expression frozen on the crew member's faces before the entire ship vanished from reality, exploding in a blast of smoke and fire and-

"Where..."

Lard Nar rubbed his eyes as he stood up and looked around the dark abyss, seeing his crew members lying nearby. He was confused...puzzled. What was going on? One moment he was facing this...THING...and then the next-

"...I died." He realized, and suddenly hot, bitter tears sprang to his eyes. He fell to his knees and began to weep. He'd failed. He had only wanted to save his people. But he'd failed them. Failed his crew. Failed his sister.

_Oh, May, I'm-_

_...what...what was that?_

There was something there. Something standing behind him, looking down at him. It wore a black cloak.

"Do you know who I am?" He asked quietly, a vague accent in his features that Lard Nar could not quite place.

"No, I don't think I-"

The hood was lowered.

"...yes. I know you, lord." Lard Nar said softly. "...I...I suppose I should recite the "Sh'Ma". He admitted, holding his hands together. "_Sh'ma yisro, adon elohay, adon e'ho, hear me now, my Lord, my God, the Lord is One..._"

"Lard Nar...it's time for the rest of you to go home." The being said as soothing light began to cover the members of the Resisty one by one.

"...but...I AM home." The Vortian murmured, getting a look at what lay beyond, confused at the being's words.

"Well, actually...you see, it's just not your time." Death insisted, placing a furry, white paw upon Lard Nar's body and pushing back. Lard Nar felt himself gently drifting down...down...

"You and the others will have to wait for a little while...but it should all work out. You simply need faith..."

...

...

...

...Frequency took a long sip of his beer as he turned his head to look over at Nick, who was nervously tapping the tips of his fingers together as he sat at the bar with him. "What's happedy-hap?" He wanted to know.

"May. She's pregnant. And furthermore, they're delivering the baby right now." Nick told him, chewing on his lip as the Experimental American sipped his drink again.

"Ah. Ain't that cute, she's havin' a shorty!" Frequency laughed. "Aw, don't freak out. It'll be good for you. Trust me."

"Well, well."

A voice spoke up. Sly and intelligent with a slight flair to it. The owner was a dark-blue-eyed Irken with a blue outfit and a fairly long body. His outfit didn't look too interesting...but there was something on the front. A red and grey orb...and his PAK. There was a tingling energy coming from it. Nick recognized the Irken and blinked a few times.

"Lox?" He asked.

"Correct!" Lox laughed, bowing deeply. "Magician extraordinaire! And guess what? I'm doing a little favor for the Committee that Nexus is chair of." He told the two as the bartender rolled his eyes behind the counter, wishing that he didn't get quite so many nutjobs here on the space station.

"A favor? What kind?"

"Well, you see, Nexus has volunteered all of you for some psychological research project...MINE." He grinned. "I'm going to listen to all the people on this space station blabber on about feelings and what Blood Sport is like and how it affects your personal lives and BLAH-BLAH-BLAH." Lox remarked, waving his hand in the air in a "Gimme a break" fashion as Jana walked into the bar, sitting nearby.

"Want a drink?" The bartender asked Lox.

"Well, I'd really enjoy a Gin and Tonic with a slice of lemon."

"All I got left is this." The bartender said, holding up a glass and pouring out some high-quality Jagermeister.

"...ah. Fine." Lox took a small sip, then turned to Nick and Frequency. "And since I happen to make my living in analyzing people, I think that you'll be very interesting cases." He told them all.

"Oh really?" Nick folded his arms. "Okay...do me. What can you tell about me?" Nick asked.

Lox looked him up and down. "Well, from your outfit, you're a communications officer. Furthermore, your height and the big silver seal upon your belt signifies a high ranking. I'd wager you're Senior Officer?" Lox asked.

Nick nodded his head. He was impressed.

"You've got a very round head." Lox added. This made Nick frown a bit. "And rather large eyes. Open wide. Rather...soft. You look nervous too, I can see your leg jiggling." He added, pointing at Nick's leg. "And judging from the fact that you have a wedding ring around one of your fingers and I've seen you hanging around with a Vortian whom you've been snogging, I will make an educated guess that she is pregnant and the baby is due very soon? Perhaps set to come out any hour now?"

Nick nodded firmly. "Quite." He told Lox. "You're very, very good." He added.

"Why, thank you." Lox said, bowing deeply. "It's all observation, my friend." He told Nick. "Now...let me look at you." He remarked, rubbing his chin as he examined Frequency, who put the beer down.

"What'll you have?" The bartender asked Jana.

"Vortian Firewhisky. **Now**." She demanded. The bartender poured her a glass as Lox looked Frequency over.

"...you're very liberal-leaning, I'd imagine." He told Frequency. "I see the peace sign you wear around your neck. Furthermore, it's PINK. And despite the temperature in this room, you dress in a manner revealing you probably wear that sort of outfit constantly. Combined with your accent..."

"Yeah, not bad, dude. Not bad at all!" Frequency admitted.

"I also wager you've lifeguard experience based upon your outfit. And, judging from that outfit AND accent, you surf."

"Right on." Frequency said, raising his fist up in a salute.

"But you're carrying a knife on you. I can smell steel. And since I don't see it in your pockets..."

Lox reached up and ripped the red cap off of Frequency's head, revealing a butterfly knife hidden atop. "This means you're used to hiding weapons. I take it you're an experienced killer. Possibly since childhood. Furthermore, by looking in your wallet..." Lox reached into Frequency's pockets. "I see you're a member of the ASPCA as well as the NRA. You seem to have both a value on animal life and yet belong to a group of "gun nuts". Therefore those allegiances, combined with your sneakiness at hiding weapons, make me assume that you are some sort of assassin."

Frequency took the butterfly knife off his head and twirled it around in a fancy fashion before sheathing it and placing it back atop his head along with the cap. He then snatched the wallet out of Lox's hands and tucked it away. "Yeeeep." He said simply.

"And you." Lox looked Jana over. "You're...an assassin as well. I can see the faint bulge of hidden weaponry in your pockets. Your eyes...slanted. No funny business at all. Your body is tense, ready for a possible fight, you're experienced in killing."

He then dove into her side pocket, pulling out a ticket. "I see a betting stub. I take it from this you are a bit of a gambler. And judging by the high amount you put upon YOURSELF to win, I take it you are also very overconfident. Also, I can see clear disdain on your features every time you look at those two, a disdain that strengthened when I mentioned that the communications officer had gotten that Vortian pregnant. Therefore I judge that you are racist. And from the way you're flushing, I've got it in one, haven't I?" Lox asked with a cocky grin.

THWUDDA-WHACKA!

He was knocked through the air and onto a table as Jana leapt up, spiraling around before slamming her foot into his stomach, making him roll onto his side and vomit profusely as Jana walked off, waving a hand in the air. "Got it in one." She commented calmly.

"Daaaaaaaamn." Nick muttered. "I thought artists were supposed to be SUICIDAL, not HOMICIDAL."

"Damn, that bitch is stupid fly, if I weren't married, I'd wanna pull up to that bumper and smack that monkey." Frequency remarked.

"Okay, surfer boy, WHAT the hell was that?" Nick asked.

Frequency held up a book titled "Ebonics 101: Scoring Chicks In A Single Line".

"...ugh." Nick moaned. "And to think, that fanatic is going to be in Blood Sport's next round...do I REALLY wanna watch her?"

"Just go wait for your babe to get done with her babe. I'll tell ya how the round went down." Frequency promised. Nick nodded eagerly and ran off as Frequency pulled out a small walkie-talkie.

"I'm followin' her. Like I promised. Over." He spoke softly into it.

"Keep an eye on that one." A kindly, feminine voice spoke up from the other end. "I've noticed a pattern about her, and I don't like it."

...

...

...

...Zim sat down in the chair across from Lox as he faced the psychological evaluator. "I don't know WHY I need to do this. Nothing is wrong with Zim!" Zim insisted.

"Why don't you tell me what made you get into Invading?" Lox asked.

"...well, originally, I WASN'T into Invading." Zim told Lox. "I was just interested in what the Empire wanted me to do. When I was seven years old, the only things that I loved were my the Empire...and Erin Nightshade, the Arosean. Now, Erin was...well, she was as lovely as any non-Irken could be. Not as lovely as myself, of course, but still, acceptably lovely." Zim remarked.

"Go on..."

"Well, I went into Invader training because it meant I'd have more chances to see her. I mean, I really didn't care too much about anything else. But then, during...during the first training exercises, I got all caught up, you know? And...well, I fell in love with it! With the excitement and the shooting and explosions and the DOING, you see?" Zim remarked.

"Uh-huuuuh..." Lox took a few notes on his notepad, nodding.

"Well, anyhow, that's why I became an Invader. Because, you know, every day you must, as the HUUUMANS might say..." Zim cleared his throat. "Step up to the table". I've gone one-on-one with Dib constantly. And it's the constant challenge that keeps me going! Heh, you know...it's almost a crime to mess up this beautiful face, but I am Zim...I can handle the pressure." Zim insisted.

"And Ember? Tell me about your girlfriend."

Zim blushed slightly. "...I just..." He spoke quietly. Nervously. "Okay, um.... I can be myself around her... you know? Every little thing we do together just seems better when she's there by my side. This human girl is...she is really something. She...she truly is." He said, smiling at the mental image of her.

...

...

...

...the desert region. Dry, arid, and bad-smelling. A single, solitary cloud hovered overhead as a bird "cawed" in the air.

"I now regret wearing this." Black, the "Exiled" Tallest muttered as he moaned, rubbing his head with his armband communicator. He was BOILING in this heat due to the fact that he was dressed all in black. He decided to take his cape off and, still muttering, wrapped it around his head to keep the sweat out as he walked along the desert past some huge rocks that were scattered around.

Meanwhile, Kalte was also sweltering in the heat. He wore a dark grey outfit that showed off the top of his chest with white shorts, many-laced black boots and antennae that were curled up like a paperclip. He had his whip hidden in his cloaked outfit and was rubbing his forehead, not saying a word as he looked around the desert region from atop an enormous statue of a large stone head of some kind with square-like features and a very long and large nose. He looked it over.

"Ugly." He decided.

The eyes opened up, revealing glowing red orbs. He blinked a few times, then shrugged and tossed two knives into them.

BEEEEEEOOOOOO. The robotic/stone thing shut down and let out a splutter as Kalte rolled his eyes and headed off in the direction of a form far off in the distance who was trying to catch her breath.

And that was, in fact, Jana.

"Why? WHY did I wear black to this stupid..." She muttered. "Of all the times to be in this outfit, this is just...ugh, the things I do for my Lord Zim." She decided, standing back up as she walked away from the tree. She heard a cry in the air and looked up to see a bird of some kind land on the tree. It had a dark grey-colored body with a fairly sharp beak, but, most noticeably of all, it had a large vest-like chest of pure white plumage on the front of it's body.

"...hmm." She continued walking.

"Hmm." The bird repeated.

"...huh?" She turned around, noticing the bird had spoken.

"Huh!"

"...is that...a parrot of some kind?" She wondered.

"Is that... a parrot of some kind!" The bird repeated.

"Well, it IS." Jana smirked slightly. "Polly wanna cracker?" She asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"Polly wants your sweet ass." The bird said.

"...what did Polly just say?" Jana asked, still smiling, but now one eye was twitching.

"Uh, "Polly", that's me...wants, that's a "desire", "your sweet ass". That's your badonkadonk. Your heinie. Your bum." The bird said.

"...I'm hallucinating." Jana muttered. "It's the heat." She realized. "I'm hallucinating in the heat."

"Daaaamn, and lookit your LEGS, girl! They go on for MIIIILES." The raven spoke up, sniggering as it held a wing over its beak.

"Why couldn't I get a nice hallucination?" Tallest Black murmured as pink elephants walked around him, tooting their trumpets like horns as they shook their butts at him. "This is just...weird."

"It's about to get weirder." A grey elephant with floppy ears remarked as it flew around in the air, playing an accordion.

Frequency, hiding away behind another strange, stone head sniggered to himself as he watched the Irkens hallucinate. Irkens just couldn't handle a lot of heat. It made them highly susceptible to-

...suggestions...ideas...

Idea. A good one. Frequency carefully crept around the statue, heading for a nearby hill, sliding down it and pulling out a sniper rifle, inserting a special cartridge into the round...tranquilizers. He then grinned darkly and readied himself as he peeked over the hill, looking around to make sure nobody else could see him before zeroing in on the far-off Black.

"Ready...aim...oh, wait." He noticed somebody was approaching the Tallest...it was none other than Jana herself. "This could work." He realized.

"...are you another hallucination?" Jana and Black asked at the same time. With that, their eyes widened and they then got into battle positions.

"Ooh, at last. A worthy challenge. I was hoping to test it on somebody...TALLER...but you'll do." Black remarked, licking his lips in a sinister fashion.

"I can tell you don't like the Tallest." Jana whispered. "Well, I don't either. You survive this, maybe I can make use of you."

"I was thinking the same thing. We shall see who will "survive this"." He told Jana calmly before rushing forward.

Meanwhile, Kalte saw the two clashing in the desert, their forms tumbling on the sand as he readied his swords, eyes narrowing. The targets were in sight. Time to put an end to this, nice and quickly.

...

...

...

..."Okay, tell me about yourself, Ms. Ember." Lox asked the human girl politely.

"Well...when I was a little girl, my dad used to have what my mom liked to call "Episodes." Heh. That's a flattering term for...well, for him getting drunk and then beating the shit out of me. That's how I turned to the Bible, actually. It wasn't that I picked it up and found it to be a darn good read, it was because I needed a reason to live so I could endure being knocked from room to room. My BROTHER wasn't any help. Too much like my deadbeat dad." Ember muttered, shaking her head.

"And so...what happened after that?"

"Well, I began reading about the importance of reaching out. I read the line "The Lord is My Shepherd" and I got it. I was a lost sheep. And I realized that I should look for other lost sheep. And there Zim was at the dance, standing there all alone, and I looked at his eyes. In them, I... I saw somebody who wasn't sure where he belonged and didn't know how to get where he wanted to go. And I took his hand. And you know...we don't talk too often. Mostly he talks, I listen, but..."

"But?"

"...I feel really safe, yet totally independent at the same time when I'm with him. I can say whatever's on my mind and even if he doesn't like it...even if he doesn't understand it... he respects it. He seems to like me for who I am." Ember said happily.

...

...

...

... With a bound, Jana leapt up through the air, landing on Black's stomach, one fist raised up as she slammed it into his cheek a few times before he knocked her away with a harsh punch, rolling away on the sand as he jumped back up. He then extended his PAK leg and she barely avoided being skewered in the arm...only to get skewered in the shoulder as he sneered.

"Ooh, does that hurt? Well let me know if there's anything I can do to make things more...PAINFUL!" he laughed, twisting it and making her scream. But she wasn't out of it yet. She grabbed ahold of the PAK leg and swung her body, making him go flying away through the air to hit a nearby statue head, making it fall over. She then grabbed ahold of a knife by her boot and flung it, hitting him in the cheek and he gasped, holding his wound as she stood up, twirling a few knives.

"Not bad, I admit." She told him as he got up, getting back into his fighting pose. "But not good enough.

"Presumptuous brat. I've been fighting since before you could spell the word." Black told her coldly.

"Move out of the WAY." Frequency muttered, trying to aim for Jana.

It was then that something flew through the air and a large whip wrapped around Jana. She had time to gasp in surprise as she was tossed to the side and a knife flew through the air, striking Black on the arm, making him gasp in pain. He reeled back, snarling angrily at the sight of Kalte, who twirled a sword and faced Black down.

"First you. Then her." He said, motioning towards Jana as he pressed a button on his whip. Instantly a surge of electrical energy surged through her body and she screamed in pain, reeling on the ground and moaning horribly as Frequency quickly put the rifle back around his shoulder, slinking off to move around the hill he'd been hiding behind. He watched as Kalte swung the sword at Black, forcing the Tallest back further and further along the desert as Black used his PAK legs to try and block the assault.

Once they were far away enough, Frequency knelt by the unconscious Jana and picked her up, cradling her gently in his arms and heading off behind a large rock face, resting her head against the wall.

"Jana?" He whispered, placing his paw on her head and speaking softly to her. "C'mon, babe...tell me...tell me why you're in Blood Sport. Spill the beans, okay?"

"It's...for Zim. It's all for Zim. He's best...Invader...understands...everything...I've watched his progress for so long...he'll be the one to make us great...make...all the...make all the others pay...Red...Purple...will pay for...exiling him...I'll...I'll kill all the Tallest..." Jana murmured out in a hypnotized tone.

Brainwaves...they were so easy for him to manipulate due to his wave-riding ability. He grinned and patted her on the cheek. "You rest easy." He told her. "I'm gonna go blow away the guy who did this to you." He told her semi-conscious form as he stood up, removed the tranquilizer round and replacing it with a new cartridge...Dum-Dums.

"What happened to "I've been fighting since before you could spell the word"?" Kalte mused, sizing Black up as the exiled Tallest gave him a nervous growl. Clearly this assassin was stronger than he'd anticipated. Kalte twirled around and delivered a harsh kick to the Tallest's face, making him go flying backwards.

Black re-righted himself and held up his claws as they glowed brightly. "You've got skill and style, but unlike you, I've gained Mastery over Space and Time! I can make life itself implode with a touch...and that shall be your fate!" He laughed, rushing forward. "Just like that stupid-"

A kick to his arm, sudden and swift, made him lose balance, and Kalte's fist slammed hard into his cheek. He gasped in pain as a tooth went flying out, and staggered back.

Things looked grim. Black was not a match for Kalte...he was too overconfident. But as Kalte finally pinned Black against a rock wall, his PAK legs holding Black's PAK legs away as he raised the sword up to deliver the final blow...

Frequency's surfer-boy accent roared out with gleeful rage.

"I'm gonna blow you into so many pieces they won't be able to pick you up with TWEEZERS!"

Kalte turned, eyes widening as Frequency fired off a round at him. Black and Kalte barely dodged in time as the round struck the rock wall Black had been pinned to, making it not only crack down the middle, but causing a small explosion to send shards flying through the air as Frequency re-aimed at Kalte, a camera drone hovering overhead.

"Well THIS is what I call unusual...but I LIKE it!" Nexus remarked, nodding his head.

...

...

...

... "Okay, so, what's your biggest problem with your race?" Lox asked, placing his hands together as he looked this new person over. The human sighed and brushed his hair back.

"...I really...it's just..." He bit his lip. "I tried. I really, really tried not to hate my whole species. But there were days when it just...the things we do get me so MAD! So often we forget the dangerous consequences of our actions, we don't bother to think about how wars or pollution or disregard for morality can endanger us. So many of us think that it's all alright if it feels good, in fact, an entire GENERATION was built up on that! GOD!" He threw his hands up in the air. "But..."

"But what?"

"...but I love them. It's not our fault. People are good. They're stupid. Really stupid sometimes. But they're good. I remember thinking back...I remember this Parent/Teacher thing, everybody crowded around this women to help her after a poking incident. Or another time when people cheered and clapped at the idea of a machine that would ensure people would have energy all over the world no matter how poor they were. And...and I think of Zim."

"Zim?"

"It's because Zim was so weird and strange and different. I KNEW he was an alien yet all the other kids were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt just because he was new and he looked weird. They always thought of him as strange, but they pitied him more than hated him the way they hated me. They PITIED the person that wanted to get them all enslaved or blown up, and..." He sighed and smiled a little. "That actually makes me happy. It makes me happy that they'd want to believe the best in him because they felt sorry for him."

"Really?" Lox asked, looking amused. "That's interesting..."

...

...

...

..."Hold still and lemme turn ya into a wall decoration!" Frequency bellowed out as he fired away at Kalte, who jumped through the air, dodging the shots as Black hid himself away, pulling out a small bottle of healing potion. He held it up to his lips and downed it in a single gulp as Kalte suddenly leapt through the air, spiraling around and striking the Bounty Hunting surfer's gun away...

THWACK.

A harsh kick knocked Kalte back as Frequency rushed forward, eyes glittering as Jana peeked over the top of the hill. She gasped at the sight she saw as Black looked at the scene with her, eyes widening as the ripping and tearing of flesh rung in their lack of ears. Kalte remained silent to the end as a harsh "SQUA-GLUKKK" noise tore through the air and a slurping noise lasted for several minutes...

Then it was done.

Frequency now stood over Kalte, blood oozing down from his sharp teeth as his slightly-hunched back turned, allowing him to face them. Blood dribbled down his chin and onto the still chest of the Irken below as Frequency's yellow eyes gazed at them intently, breathing in deep, ragged breaths as he licked his lips free of blood, then stood up as the precious life from Kalte's neck drained out.

"Sorry ya had to see me like that." He muttered as Black and Jana looked at each other, the camera drone having captured all of the horrid violence. "I don't like gettin' so nasty 'n stuff. It's major uncool."

"Innnnnteresting." Nexus thought out loud as the center gem on his body glowed brightly. "Quite the nasty little animal you are, deep down!" He laughed, patting the gem. Another soul added...

"Well..." Frequency shrugged. "Now, what about you two?" He asked. "You gonna fight each other now?"

Black and Jana looked at each other, nodded...

BLAM! Two PAK legs sent Frequency flying through the air over the sand dunes with a "WAA-HOO-HOO-HOO". The two then turned to the camera drone. "We're done here." Jana said, taking out a knife.

SZZZAT! She stuck it in the drone, making it fall to the sand with a THWUMP, smoke rising from it. Smirking, she turned to Black.

"Now...let's deal. You hate the Tallest. **I** hate the Tallest. What do you say...we work out a compromise?"

"What would you like to do?" Black asked, looking interested.

"Well, you see...as Tallest, I know you can allow certain rules in this competition to be bent to your whim. I'd like to deal with a few...off-planet threats. Like...OTHER Tallest who might cause trouble."

Black's grin was the work of demons. "Well, my dear...you've got yourself a deal." He whispered, taking her hand and shaking it eagerly. "Now...what shall we talk about?" He added with a sly grin.

...

...

...

... "So...you're the last one." Lox said, placing his fingers together as he raised an invisible eyebrow. "And also the most interesting case, I imagine! Now then...tell me. What is it that drove you to create Blood Sport?"

Nexus leaned back in the enormous, plushy chair that so many others had been sitting in before. He took a deep breath as Lox frowned slightly at the helmet he wore. "Why don't you take that off? There are no secrets here."

"...you SURE you wanna see what I look like underneath?" Nexus inquired, grinning like a shark.

Somehow this got Lox to gulp. A chill ran through his lanky body. "...on second thought...whatever makes you comfortable, sir. Now, again...why did you create Blood Sport?"

"...well, I guess it all started as a way to bring artists and writers together who really could appreciate a violent but GRIPPING story that would have elements of tragedy, drama, some black comedy-oh." He blinked. "Sorry, I almost broke the Fourth Wall, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you almost did. Try again." Renee yelled out from down the hall.

"How does she KNOW? Ugh." Nexus sighed. "Well, I wasn't good as a...solider. I wasn't strong. I wasn't skilled in shooting. But I was too damn tall for them to ignore. SO I became assistant to the Tallest of Education...and eventually an adviser. And I LOVED it." He smiled wistfully. "I could spend so much time just...being alone and looking out at the planet. Have you ever seen it at night?" He asked Lox. "Just...looked out over the tallest buildings and see it all lit up? It was just...it was beautiful." He said softly.

"Well, thanks to my advice, I kept the quadrant of irken space in complete order. Unforutnately this meant that some of our allies, like the Vortians, got pissed off with my kind of harsh tactics. They rebelled, I misplaed a speech due to me panicking, and then I got shipped to the frontlines and met Red and Purple. And at first...we hit it off. I mean, I REALLY liked them. And they really liked me too, but..." His smile became a slight, disturbed frown.

"...but what?" Lox asked calmly.

"They hired me to handle the paperwork of the Irken Empire and to allow them to spend more time being lazy and goofing off. In fact, that may have been their ONLY brilliant idea, having me file all their taxes and do the expense reports. I was good, you know." He said with a hint of pride. "Unfortunately they started getting...they let power "get" to them. They insisted on bringing planets in by force. And when we did THAT, we pissed the inhabitants off. We cut corners. More defectives began to be produced and the crime rate grew to SHOCKING heights. And that's....when it hit me."

Nexus grinned broadly and leaned forward, claws curling slightly. "I approached Red and Purple with the idea for a "game show"...a Game Show I called "Blood Sports". The worst of the worst of the worst would be stuck on a planet in a bloody competition! Let the lions fight the lions, I said. Let all the psychos and monsters and criminals kill themselves off and toss in a few politicians and war heroes that we don't like into the mix to make things MORE interesting. And that's how it all got started." He explained. "I like to think of myself as doing a service to Irk. I'm not only entertaining the masses, I've done more to bring Order to the Empire and Crime to it's knees than Red and Purple ever had the entire time they've been TALLEST!" He roared with delight.

Lox was taking a lot of notes, scribbling furiously. Nexus's ego was clearly as big as the helmet on his head. Delusions of grandeur, possible paranoia...god complex, maybe? But he didn't DARE say it.

"And that stupid communications officer's naïve. He thinks the whole thing is just an exercise in cruelty. He has no idea the good potential that it can bring. He has no idea that all of us have this...this desire to just take a gun to some evil creep's head and pull the trigger." He told Lox. "If YOU had the power to destroy the life of one that's caused the suffering of hundreds, **_wouldn't you take it?_**" He asked Lox.

Lox nervously waved his hand in the air. "I'M asking the questions here." He said.

But he was not honestly sure if he could have said "No" to Nexus.

...

...

...

...

Nick waited outside the teleportation pods for Black, Frequency and Jana to come back. Frequency muttered, holding his sore head as he exited first, then Black, then Jana. She noticed Nick was standing nearby and rubbed her chin. "Well...is there a reason you're looking at me like that, human?" She asked, saying "human" the way Mel Gibson might say the word "Jew".

""Do you wanna know why I wanted that to be you looking back at me from that commissioning award?" Nick asked her quietly.

Jana blinked a few times.

"Why I'd been happy to find out who you used to be?" The communications officer went on, lowering his mask to look directly at Jana's green eyes with his own. "Because it would have meant you were somebody who had all these big dreams and **ambitions**, somebody who wanted to inspire others to be incredible and who found joy in making pictures of beauty, somebody who had _creativity_ in her heart and wanted to use it to leave behind a legacy of inspiration, not one of bloodshed. And even though things didn't turn out the way you'd hoped, at least it would explain why you are the way you are and...and make you **HUMAN**, forgive the term. But instead, you're nothin' but a big **JERK** who just likes being nasty for no reason." He said sadly, shaking his head.

"Are you...feeling...SORRY for me?" Jana asked. "Save your pity for the weak. Creativity and spirit aren't going to get you anywhere, just like your compassionate attitude. You need to look at it logically." She told Nick, poking him in the chest. "You need to be wise up the way I have. Get this through your head: The Tallest are stupid, your race is inferior, _and there's no room for KINDNESS or DREAMS in Irken society!_"

Nick was quiet for a while. Then he gently brushed Jana's hand away and sighed.

"Jana...if you honestly cannot see past my humanity...if you can so easily ignore my desire to try and be kind to you...if you're so eager to ignore the heart you once had, then I'd rather be a happy, dream-following inferior dunce than a wise, rational woman such as yourself." He spoke mournfully.

And with that, he walked off, leaving Jana alone...and stupefied. He lowered his head as he turned the hallway to go find his wife. The baby was still not yet delivered, but maybe by the time he found her again...he needed something to cheer him-

He bumped into someone. "OOF!" he rubbed his head and reopened his eyes, seeing a very, very familiar...and very, very BIG head. A head belonging to a young man with scythe-like black hair and glasses.

"Dib." Nick whispered, a smile spreading across his face as Dib, standing by a dark purple-eyed female Irken with a caped outfit to match smiled back at him.

"Hey." Dib said cheerfully.

"Hello, Nick." Tak said with a slight nod of her head.

...

...

...

...She was a rather beautiful female Irken. Rather large eyelashes...a green/blue, aka cyan colored Tallest's body. Curled up antennae and vivid life filling hose cyan eyes. Lady Miyuki stood by a SIR unit which had an oddly-rounded body. There were absolutely no edges on it at all, and it's eyes were big and oddly deep. It held up a glass of soda for her to drink as she looked over some recordings that Frequency had sent to her.

"She seems to be very, VERY interested in Zim." Lady Miyuki said. She had once been a Tallest of the Irken Empire, but was now hiding out in secrecy. Sitting in a chair, watching her from Foodcourtia via vid-screen was a Tallest with rather small but frighteningly powerful eyes like yellow beetles with a body to match the eyes. He looked rather obsessive...well, hey, the eyes were the gateway to the soul, and Spork WAS obsessive in many ways. Right now, it was over his Snacky Cakes.

"STOP STARIN' AT MY SNACKY CAKES!" he told a child nearby who kept pointing at him and his snacky cakes. That horrible child! "And I can't imagine why'd anybody would be interested in ZIM. He's just..." He shuddered. "He brings ruin to everyone and everything! It's like he's jinxed! It would be one thing if he was intelligent enough to USE his remarkable talent for screwing people over, but he's so criminally oblivious!"

"YOU were pretty criminally oblivious too, Sporky!" Miyuki laughed. "You didn't even know what pregnancy was for more than 90 years, remember?"

Spork blushed as he put a snacky cake into his mouth and chewed. "Mmmba-mmrgl."

"Anyhow, we definitely should be wary of her. There's a glint in her eye I recognize. She's got something terrible planned."

"Well WE can't do anything, can we? We need to stay hidden. And I'm not a part of Irk anymore. They can run the Empire into the ground for all I care. I'm retired. Out of it." He insisted.

"I'll bet your daughter could change your mind." Miyuki giggled.

"Ooh, don't you DARE-" Spork began. But Felix began fiddling with the machine.

"Ooh, you're losin-KRRRRK! We can't-KRRRRKZ! Breaking...breaking up!" He laughed, finally pulling the plug as he and Miyuki giggled together...

Unaware of a single ship that was approaching the space station they were hiding on. Jana held up a small picture of Miyuki and Zim kissing at a New Year's Party, a devilish smile spreading over her features.

...

...

...

... "Hello? Operator?"

"Yes? How may I help you?"

"Listen, I need to make a call directly to the Irken Colony on Sirius Minor, STAT. It's important."

"May I ask who's calling?"

"I'm Chief Scientist Trik, of the Research and Development in Irk's Weapons Program. Now PLEASE, I need to talk to my wife."

"Oh, Trik? THE Trik? Sir, I've...got some bad news, your wife's in the hospital. There's...been some complications of the heart cancer she was checked in for, we don't know when she'll be out..."

"But she's...six months with child..." Trik stuttered out, gripping the phone.

"They're doing the best they can, sir, I promise you..."


	8. The Gentleman and The Giant

_Another round is here! Remember, Shojah belongs to __**thedarkestprince**__ and Vex is property of __**duckehluff. **__And Sadi belongs to __**Zerna!**_

_**

* * *

****BLOOD SPORT: ROUND 7  
**_

_**Shojah vs Vex**_

_**

* * *

**It would be nice if everyone in the universe got along. I don't mean think the same exact way...just had the same goals and the same ideas on how to reach them. What's so funny about peace, love, and understanding? Well, the way it works is like this: Life is not "ha-ha" funny so much as "Okaaaaay" funny. It's just friggin' weird. Odd. Messed up. Just when you think you understand what's coming next, JUST when it looks like everything is going to work out just fine...THIS stuff happens. _

* * *

Nick gently held his beautiful daughter in his arms as he blushed, looking sweetly down at his new child. She shakingly reached up with her arms, stroking his chest slightly and cooing as May sat next to him, Bo and Ian eagerly standing near to get a glimpse of their new child. She had one of her mother's pink eyes, one of her father's green ones, and small, nubby little horns. Tears of joy filled Nick's eyes and he gently stroked her.

"You're so beautiful." He told her.

_I'm...I'm the father of this beautiful, beautiful baby girl..._

"No complications whatsoever." The good doctor said, nodding his head. "It was my pleasure to deliver this beauty baby." He added, looking at the two proud parents. "What will you call the little one?" He asked.

"...Nora. It means "Honor"." May decided.

"Well, we need to do some tests on her." The good doctor told May. "To make sure she's healthy on the inside AND outside."

"You take special care of her. She's my special girl!" Nick insisted.

...

...

...

..."Pick a card." Lox said, holding up a large deck of cards in his hand as he faced down our protagonists within the cafeteria. Nick was looking around, trying to find where Trik had gone to. "Where is he?" He wanted to know. "I haven't seen him around since yesterday."

"He got a call yesterday, apparently. His wife's gotten very sick. I think he went to go check up on her." Darth informed him, sipping some soda as Nick looked the cards over.

"Okay, just...pick one?" He asked.

"Yep." Lox commented. "Any one you want."

Nick's gloved hand reached out across the cafeteria table and they watched him pick a card, placing it down onto the table. It read "The Fool" and showed a person in elaborate clothes with his head looking up at the sky, eyes wide and happy, about to step off a cliff as a little dog nipped at his heels.

"You've found yourself." Lox sniggered, rolling his eyes. Nick blushed slightly. "Would YOU like to pick a card, my dear blind friend?" He asked of Darth.

Darth turned in his direction and reached out with his hand, feeling the cards. Finally he grabbed ahold of one, pulling it up and placing it down. "What is it?" He asked of them.

"It's the Pope, or "Hierophant" card." Lox told him calmly. "It seems you too have found yourself."

"HA...HA...HA." Darth muttered.

"Ooh, lemme pick one." A voice spoke up. Darth stiffened. He'd HEARD that voice before. They all turned around to see a black-eyed being with a black and white outfit, sharp claws and a large, toothy grin appear behind them.

"S-S-S-S-Sadi..." Nick gulped.

"Ooh, so YOU'RE that communications officer that got Nexus in a tiff. My, you look lovely. I'll bet you'd go great in a basil sauce with some nice chianti." She told him, licking her lips.

Nick's eyes grew to "Puppy-dog" size again and he began to nervously whimper. "Awwwww." Sadi said, grabbing her cheek and squeezing. "You're so cuuuute. I might keep your eyes in a Mason Jar just so I can look at these cute little gems."

"Uh...that's...sweetly disturbing of you?" Nick murmured out.

"Now can I draw a card?" She asked as the others all shuffled or scrambled away to make room for her.

Lox nervously shuffled the cards in his desk, then placed them out on the table so that not even HE could see what she was going to pick. "Alright, go ahead. In fact, pick three. One for your past, one for your present, one for your future."

"Alright...here." She pointed at one at the end and flipped it over. It was of...Death.

"Oh boy." May commented, shaking her head. "THAT doesn't look good."

"No, no, it's a misunderstanding that's common. The Death card doesn't actually mean REAL death." Lox informed them all. "It means a change. New replacing the old."

"Hmm." Sadi rubbed her chin. "Alright, I can understand that." She then picked another card...

Death.

"...is...that normal?" Nick asked.

"Well, um..." Lox stuttered nervously. "It-it will all become clear in the NEXT card." He assured them all. Sadi picked one final card, flipping it over...

Death.

**SFX: Bum-bum-BUUUUM!**

"This is _REALLY_ strange! There's only supposed to be one "Death" card per deck!" Lox commented as Sadi looked nervously down at the cards she'd picked.

...

...

...

...Trik paced back and forth, blue eyes narrowed as he stood outside of the hospital waiting area at the front desk. He'd returned to the enormous burning ball of desert that was Sirius Minor and had spent the entire day waiting for the Head of the Hospital to show the hell up so he could freakin' TALK to him. Luckily, he was soon rewarded for his patience by seeing an official-looking man in a doctor's labcoat walking towards him.

"Sir, the secretary says you've been trying to find me to check on a patient?" He asked, tilting his goggles down to look Trik in the eye.

"Yes, I'm Trik." Trik introduced himself, eagerly shaking the man's gloved hands. "Listen, I HAVE to see my wife Dari. She's six months pregnant AND she's been placed within this hospital for having cancer of the heart, I NEED to see her at once!"

"Ah, Ms. Dari. Well, come this way, sir. Usually I don't allow this sort of breach of protocol." The head of the hospital told Trik as he led him over to the secretary's computer, typing in an access code. "But since your story has so touch-ed my heart...I'll let it slide this once."

"Really?"

"Nah, I think your reason's stupidly cliché, but I'm bored. And frankly, this is the most interesting thing I've seen all day. Most people just come in looking to check in on their little kid that got a scraped knee. BORING!" He yelled out loud, hitting the "Enter" button on the computer keyboard. A picture of Dari's yellow-eyed form appeared in a folder of patients. "There....oh." The doctor's face fell slightly.

"What?" Trik demanded to know.

"Look." The doctor told him, pointing with a single clawed digit.

"Diseased? I already knew she was sick!" Trik commented angrily.

"No...it's...deceased, sir. "Deceased". She's dead. And apparently..." He typed some more on the keyboard, bringing some forms onto the screen. "She died about...ten hours ago."

Trik felt the exclamation of protest he'd been about to say die before it left his lips. He had no rational response to the realization that his beautiful wife...and child that would have been...was now dead of heart cancer in a shitty hospital.

"She was supposed to be alive." Trik mumbled, body quivering.

"Hey, you...need to have a drink, sir?" The secretary asked as Trik fell down into a chair, eyes bugging out, tears dribbling down his cheeks.

"_She was supposed to be alive_..."

...

...

...

... "This shouldn't take too long." Shojah thought to himself, red eyes narrowed as he looked out at his opponent. His white jacket was well-hidden behind the bush he was hiding inside as he carefully gazed at the Irken who was looking down at a picture frame. Vex was a rather pale-colored Irken who was blind in the left eye, a large scar slashed across it. He had an X-shaped strap design across his chest of black to match his pants and the rest of his outfit was white.

He was looking at a picture of a girl. She had an orange outfit with long eyelashes and beautifully sparkling orange eyes. He was caressing her face as lovingly as if it was the real thing, his one working eye filled with sorrowful memory and loss, his three-stubbed antennae hanging low.

Shojah felt a tiny hint of regret fill him. He knew who this one was...Vex happened to be an old war hero, true, but he was mostly famous for looking after Savannah, a child who'd been born decades ago when Red had been married to another Irken named Yellow. Sadly Yellow had divorced him quite some time ago, but...Savannah had needed a babysitter since her father couldn't be there for her anymore. Vex had filled that role.

A war hero being turned into a babysitter...it really was a very touching story. Shojah sighed to himself as he readied his body to leap out and try and snap Vex's neck in a single bound, wanting to end it quickly.

Vex's body suddenly stiffened. He turned his head, eye glaring at the bush that Shojah was hiding in, sensing somebody was watching him. He then leapt away just as Shojah propelled his massive body out of the bushes and the huge vortians' claws dug into the grass of the jungle as the two of them stared at each other, Vex swinging a large metal pipe around, spinning it rapidly.

"Shojah, I take it? The Behemoth himself?" Vex wanted to know.

"Indeed, Vex. And I know of YOU." He told the Irken. "If you had stayed still, I would have given you a swift end. Unfortunately, you make this difficult." He shook his head. "Estupido."

"You're not going to...uh..._martame_?" He asked.

"Yes, "_martame_". That's the word." Shojah told him. "You know some Spanish?" He asked, looking interested as he tilted an invisible eyebrow up.

"Ehhh...some." Vex admitted. "I learned it when I was trying to impress Savannah. This whole "Zorro" phase. I'd...rather not talk about the specifics."

"I understand." Shojah admitted as he stood up, cracking his knuckles. "Now, like I said, you'd best hold still, esse." He told the Irken, rushing forward.

Vex's PAK legs shot out of his PAK, and he propelled himself upward and out of Shojah's reach, but Shojah quickly tossed something out that had been strapped to his waist, a spiked ball and chain wrapped around Vex's leg and Shojah spun the Irken around in the air, over his head, giddily whooping.

"You're gonna taste great with some parsley!" He told the Irken, sniggering as he slammed Vex into a tree, making the Irken gasp in pain as his body slid to the base. Shojah's foot slammed in front of the fallen Irken's head and Vex looked up to see Shojah cracking his knuckles.

"I suggest you stay still, esse. He told the Irken. "Or this will hurt like a bitch." He raised his clawed fist up.

BANG! Vex swung his metal pipe upwards and hit a very, VERY sensitive region.

"...OWWWW..." Shojah gasped, staggering backwards and gripping his balls for dear life. "..._OWWWWWWWW_..."

Vex immediately stood up and nervously put the pipe away on his belt. "Oh gee, sorry, I...didn't mean to hit THAT hard, but..."

"OWWWWWWW..." Shojah gasped out, falling to his knees.

Nick, who was watching the match in the lounge with Red and Purple, crossed his legs. Red and Purple nervously covered their crotch region with pillows as Darth gulped, crossing HIS own legs. Erin and May rolled their eyes. "Men." They said.

"Listne lady, you ain't ever been hit in the balls, EVER. Yes, I know you give birth, but you'll never be hit in the balls. So don't go sayin' "Men don't know anything about pain"!" Purple complained.

"Listen, I'm sorry, I-" Vex began, approaching Shojah to try and help him up. Shojah's eyes suddenly glinted and he lunged forth, pinning Vex to the ground below. "EY! OW!"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, that hurt...but what I'm going to do to you is going to hurt so, much, worse." Shojah insisted, whispering in Vex's ear. He opened his jaws to bite into Vex's neck...

But then he stopped. He frowned and stood up, dusting himself off. "I will NOT turn into a monster." He said. "I'd be dishonoring my esposa y sus hijos." He told Vex, folding his arms. "Get up and die like a man." He told Vex, red eyes narrowing slightly. "DEFEND YOURSELF."

"Oh, I will!" Vex yelled, leaping forward. He began slashing and slicing with his PAK legs as Shojah jumped around, avoiding the attacks, eyes turned to red slits, a devilish smile dancing on his face.

"C'mon, c'mon!" He demanded. "I'm expecting more!" He said, swerving his body around as if dancing to a flamenco tune. "Chipi-chipi, hey-yeah, chipi-chipi, hey-yeah!" He sang out, clearly enjoying himself.

SLASH!

A slice across the left side of his head. It wasn't deep...but it was deep enough. It hit his scar...and the pain traveled directly through to his brain. Immediately it felt as though a thousand knives were jamming into the right side of his head and Shojah let out a horrid screech as his body stiffened and then convulsed madly. He fell to the ground, gripping his form as he flopped around in a seizure.

Vex thought about finishing Shojah off, but he was not honestly sure if this was a trick or not. S he simply took off, bounding through the jungle. "Come and get me, Vortian!" He called back.

After a few horrible minutes of blinding pain gripping his head, Shojah stood up, gasping in deep breaths as he held his stomach, eyes alit with fire.

"CABRON!" Shojah swore, clenching his fist, red eyes narrowing in anger as he raced after Vex, leaping through the air, his muscles tense and ready to tear. This was more of an insult to Vortians and besides being a synonym for "asshole", it also meant "male goat" in the literal sense...and Vortians HATED to be called a "goat". "I'm gonna tear the flesh from your face!" He called out, the swords upon his back bouncing slightly against his flesh. He propelled himself through brush and tree limbs, but oticed that his leg was acting up, a dull ache moving through it. He slowed down and finally came to a stop, hiding behind a tree and rubbing it.

"Damn it." He thought. "I need to lure the Irken to ME before I can do anything." He mused. He wasn't sure HOW, but...

There was a scream. A horrible, frightened scream. A burst of flame suddenly shot up through the sky and horrid laughter filled the jungle. Nick stiffened.

"No." He whispered. "It can't be. I SHOT him. I shot him freakin' DEAD!" He protested, clenching his fist and slamming it into the couch nearby.

"Regulus is...ALIVE?" Darth gasped in fear, white eyes bulging in horror.

Vex held his shoulder, beating out flames as Regulus lowered his hand, his brown eyes narrowed into dark slits, burning embers of fire dripping from his hand. As the camera drone whizzed in to get a good look at this scene, Red turned to Darth. "He's a pyrokinetic? How could neither of you be aware of that?"

"The issue is moot because I shot him DEAD!" Nick snapped back. "...at least I thought I did." He muttered, folding his arms and frowning deeply.

"Trik, Regulus and I all have various abilities, but Regulus's power over fire never seemed...powerful at all." Darth insisted. "He had to come into contact with somebody to unleash his flames. I had no idea he could fire them at will."

"He's obviously gotten stronger." Purple realized as Vex used his pipe to try and bash away fireballs that a gleeful Regulus flung at him over and over.

"Oh c'mon, you can't dance forever, boy!" Regulus laughed. "Ha-ha-ha! Burn to the ground! Fire-related pun!"

"Dear GOD, he's worse than Mr. Freeze." Renee remarked as she folded her arms, sitting by Ember and Zim as they looked up at an enormous floating vid-screen in the cafeteria.

"Who?" Zim asked.

"I'll tell you later." Renee explained calmly, waving a hand in the air. "The audience will get it."

"Renee, watch it, the Fourth Wall can't handle that much pressure." Ember insisted.

Shojah stuck his head slightly out from behind a tree as he watched Vex be forced back across the jungle plain by the fireballs as Regulus laughed and laughed, a burning ring of flame slowly rising out from his body to cut off Vex's escape route. He frowned slightly. That horrid freak was just trying to trap him, trying to catch him and have his way.

"You're mine, mine, mine!. Mine to enjoy, mine to destroy!" Regulus laughed coldly.

Shojah's heart leapt into his mouth. All-too-familiar words shot through his head.

_"All mine, just mine, mine, mine. Mine to love, mine to hold, mine to f—k!"_

His muscular fists clenched tightly, his claws digging in deep. This monster was too much like that blackmailing little...

A horrible, sickening dark feeling rose in him. A thousand voices screaming, all of them belonging to his wife and children.

"Avenge me, avenge me!" They cry as he rushes forward. Regulus turns, his brown eyes widening. He slashes through the air, sending a wave of flame rushing at Shojah, who leaps over it. Eyes now filled with fear, Reg turns his attention on the vortian and a burning whip of fire forms in his hands. It flings through the air, slicing across Shojah's chest...

He does not feel it. He can only hear their voices as his fist finds Regulus's face. Bone cracks. Blood oozes out. Teeth shatter as Reg hits the ground, panting, a burning ring of fire surrounding him and Shojah.

"You...worm...I'll...you..." He mutters, staggering to his feet, panting heavily. The voices have fallen silent...

But only for a moment.

"_Die."_ Shojah hisses, eyes narrowed, leaping forward, teeth bared, cold-hearted intent driving him as his fist slams into Regulus's body and his claws come down again and again.

The people want blood. His wife and children cry for justice.

They...

SLASH!

Will...

SCHLUCK!

Not...

SCHLORP!

Be...

SQWULK!

Silenced.

...

...

...

...Vex stood there, watching as Shojah calmly crunched away on a rib from Reg's body which had a fair slice of meat on it, sitting on a tablecloth he'd tucked away in his pocket. He'd already reduced most of the Irken to bones and some traces of guts, and the only thing that seemed to bother Shojah was that he'd gotten blood on his nice white jacket/vest.

"_Curaho_." He muttered. "This was my best jacket, you know." He told Vex, waving the rib in the air, having sprinkled some salt and pepper on it that he'd taken out of his jacket. "Ah, but...the nice part about this man was he came pre-roasted." He held up one of Regulus's hands. "Finger food?" He asked.

"...I think I'm going to be sick." Vex decided. "You don't mind if I throw up, do you?"

"Go ahead." Shojah said, pointing over at the bushes. "I'll be waiting for you when you're ready to finish this. I promise not to eat your body though. I'm full now." He added, nodding his head, speaking almost kindly. He then took a napkin and cleared the blood off his mouth, burping slightly. "Excuse me." He apologized. "Normally I'd take this back to some room, get a little wine, some music..."

"...urp..." Vex turned pale.

"But in this case, it would take too long and meat is best when properly cooked like this."

"...be...right...back." Vex mumbled, rushing over to the bushes.

"I think I'M going to be sick. What kind of man focuses the camera on this the ENTIRE FREAKING TIME?" Nick asked Red.

Purple was throwing up into a trash can, the weaker-willed of the two whilst Red frowned darkly. "That's Nexus for you." He told Nick, shrugging.

"Oooooh. That was DELICIOUS!" Nexus laughed, clapping his hands. "The violence, the drama, the epic death scene! And the awkward silence thereafter between competitors...priceless. Truly, there are just some things money can't buy." He admitted, nodding his head, rubbing his chin.

"For everything else, there's Mastercard." GIR's voice rang out, making Nexus shriek slightly as Erin, giggling, brought GIR back over to Zim's table in the cafeteria.

Trik, meanwhile, laid against the wall of the hospital. He could cry no more tears. He had dried himself out and was now weeping dryly, unable to move from the wall as he stared up at the ceiling. Some of the doctors and nurses had wondered if he was a patient in need of checking himself in. But there was no medical cure for grief.

A voice suddenly whispered, close by.

"You want them back, don't you?"

He could hear it. HEAR it. He turned to look around, but there was nobody else close enough to be whispering. It was only then that it hit him. His mind. He was hearing it in his mind.

But he didn't care. What that person had set had jolted his desires to the forefront of his mind.

"Yes." He whispered back. "I do."

"Well...I can fix that easily enough. If you...do something for me. A teeeeensy little favor..."

...

...

...

...Miyuki patted Felix on the head as they looked over the feed from some of the other fights that had occurred. "Oh, look at Frequency's face there!" She giggled at the sight of the blue-furred being trying to pull himself out of a sand dune after he'd been launched at high speed through the air by Black and Jana.

"He sure is a silly-nilly." The SIR unit agreed, nodding his robotic head.

"Hitting him actually hurt my fist a bit." Jana's voice rang out. "But it felt...satisfiying."

Miyuki's blood ran cold. She turned her chair around as she and Felix gazed at the black-wearing assassin who held up a sword handle at them. At the touch of a button, a burning-hot blade of energy formed from it as the assassin gave them a cold smirk. "You really need to work on your security." She said.

"...there were...there were at least two dozen Vortian scientists and guards out there." Miyuki whispered. "...that...that blood on you isn't yours, is it?" She asked, looking at the splattered shoes and legs as Jana slowly shook her head.

"No, no it's not." Jana admitted, grinning darkly. "Now, I imagine you're wondering what I'm doing here?" She inquired. "That's simple enough. I need you out of the way so that my glorious master Zim can...deal with Red and Purple...and not have to worry about YOU coming back."

"Zim wouldn't kill them!" Miyuki protested. "He cares too much about their opinion!" She insisted. "And he wouldn't want to break Erin's heart!"

"True, true...which is why, once SHE'S dead along with that other humanoid, he won't feel so bad about either of the Tallest being deceased." Jana explained.

A cold chill went through Miyuki's body as she stood up, eyes narrowing to blue slits. "You ARE a cruel one." She told Jana coldly. "I would NEVER let you hurt either of those two little ones. They've done nothing to you!"

"That doesn't matter." Jana said dismissively. "This is my task. My job. And my job also includes getting rid of you."

"I will fight you to my last breath, you hateful thing." Miyuki spat, claws curling.

"Fight me here? With that little guy in harm's way?" Jana asked, looking smug. "It would only take a well-placed knife to split his neck from his head. I KNOW of his true origin. It would just **kill** old Jelly-Eyes if his precious nephew whom he saved from Death once before died for good."

"Leave...him...alone." Miyuki demanded furiously.

"...I'll make you a deal." Jana said calmly. "You give yourself up willingly...by your honor as a Tallest...and I'll not kill the little one. Deal?"

"...I want YOUR word too." Miyuki demanded, pointing at Jana. "On your honor...if you HAVE any!"

"On my honor as a loyal servant that seeks the betterment of the empire." Jana insisted, holding her sword up into the air dramatically, nodding her head.

"...fine." Miyuki said, head bowed as Felix nervously moved backwards and away towards a vent shaft. "Do what you will to me." She murmured.

"After this." Jana commented, flicking a capsule at Felix. A gloopy, sticky bubble wrapped around him, and he was trapped inside of it as Miyuki's cyan eyes widened in horror.

"You said you weren't going to hurt him!" She yelled.

"I said I would not kill him. And this won't hurt him. But he won't be escaping from this space station...ever." Jana said, gesticulating with a hand. "And that will be YOUR fate too." She added, walking towards Miyuki, holding up what the Tallest recognized to be a freezing ray. The Tallest could do nothing though. She was bound by her word. She just hung her head, looking ashamed that she'd allowed herself to put Felix in a position of being a hostage, ashamed she could not fight back.

"You were dearest of idols to my Lord once, and did so much for the Empire...but there's simply no more room in this galaxy for mercy or diplomacy. It's just not smart to be compassionate towards other, lesser races." Jana went on, aiming the gun at Miyuki's forehead. "Your age ended many years ago. Idealism has no place in the Irken Empire."

"Somebody else will stop-"

**FRRRRSHHHHH!**

"As long as it's not you, and not now." Jana remarked coldly, walking away, leaving the frozen-alive Miyuki alone within an enormous prison of ice as Felix screamed and wailed, trying to get his way out of the bubble.

...

...

...

...Vex was facing down Shojah, his body in a fighting position as he narrowed his one good eye, Shojah's arms folded as he looked the Irken over.

"You think you can really beat me?" He asked calmly.

"Maybe I can, maybe I can't. But I will do all I can to TRY." Vex insisted.

"Noble." Shojah admitted, nodding his head. He then launched himself at Vex, aiming for Vex's blind spot...

But the Irken knew that was what the Vortian had planned. He ducked down and then kicked up, knocking Shojah into the air. He then propelled himself upward on his PAK's legs and slammed the pipe into Shojah's stomach.

THWOOOMPA! The Vortian behemoth went tumbling down to the jungle floor, slamming into the ground, and Vex delivered another harsh blow to the stomach with his huge pipe, causing a crater to form beneath the Vortian. Blood splurted out from Shojah's mouth as Vex jumped back, twirling his pipe rapidly as the Vortian staggered back to his feet.

Clearly the Irken was tougher than he'd thought he was. Shojah grinned, showing off his teeth as some blood dribbled out the side of his mouth. He wiped it off with a hand and then ran around and around the Irken, rushing along the ground, waiting for an opening as Vex readied his PAK legs and pipe to strike back.

Shojah launched himself at Vex over and over again, but the Irken's will and strength were stronger than the Vortian thought. Even though each attempted leaping blow at the gentlemanly fighter felt like a sledgehammer striking at his form, Vex parried with his PAK legs and Pipe, blocking the strikes over and over, eye narrowed with determination.

"I...will...not...yield!" He roared out at Shojah.

"Who said you had a CHOICE?!" Shojah roared, jumping forward, this time slamming both his fists forward. Vex's pipe and PAK legs shot forward, but they were only barely able to knock Shojah back as the black-skinned Vortian curled his claws, looking the tired Irken over.

"I'm...not giving up." Vex insisted, thinking back to Savannah. He had to win. He had to see her again. "I made a PROMISE to Savannah I wouldn't let this competition kill me!"

"...a promise, eh?" Shojah spoke softly, and his normally deep-toned voice suddenly become softer. "...I can sympathize with that." He admitted. "You've tried to fight honorably, and I am grateful for that." He said, nodding his head. "I won't torture you anymore. I'll kill you swiftly." He said, walking forward.

"You may TRY, sir." Vex said threateningly.

Shojah was genuinely impressed. The stripling was not imitating the tiger...he WAS the tiger now. But could a tiger beat a bear like him?

FWOOOOOOSH!

A burning wall of flame shot up between the two of them as they turned their heads to see...

"Rata inmunda!" Shojah gasped, eyes widening at what was hovering in the air before them. Regulus' entire body was nothing but peeling flesh dissolving away into embers of flame as a burning being made of magma and fire hovered in the air to the side of them, the temperature of the area rising up as he leered in a sickening fashion at them, lava-esque drool dribbling out of his mouth.

"Ohhhhh my." He laughed. "You didn't think I was going to be that easy to beat, did you?" He asked, his brown eyes now turned to burning coals. "Like the phoenix rising...I am reborn constantly. You can't kill flame by biting into it, cannibal." He told the Vortian. "And I AM flame!"

"You talk to f—king much." Shojah snapped angrily.

"Might I suggest we put aside our differences to deal with this...MONSTER?" Vex inquired.

Shojah nodded firmly as the two of them raced forward. A sneering Reg thrust his arms forward as burning shafts of flame erupted around them, but the two fighters leapt around, dodging the fire over and over.

"We need to put him OUT!" Vex yelled at Shojah. "If he's living flame he has the same weaknesses as ordinary fire!" He insisted as the fire spread to the jungle area, the flames licking up into the sky as dark clouds began to form from the rapidly-burning trees.

Shojah spun through the air, dodging an oncoming fireball as he landed expertly on the ground. "Yeah, so what?" He asked.

"RAIN!" Vex reasoned. "We need to get it to rain! And FAST!"

"Well how are we gonna do that?!" Shojah asked. But then an idea hit him. "Wait. I've got it. You got a jetpack in that PAK of yours?" He asked Vex as the two of them spun away , barely avoiding a harsh blast of burning lava from Reg's maw as the burning Irken hissed and hissed.

"Yes." Vex commented, nodding firmly.

The two of them rushed at each other as Shojah's hand dove into his jacket. He then slapped his large salt shaker into Vex's hand and as they passed away from each other, Vex's PAK transformed, a burning engine appearing out of the back of it. He grinned and launched up into the darkened clouds above, ripping the top of the salt shaker open and sprinkling the salt through the clouds overhead as Regulus looked up, blinking in confusion.

"What on..." He began.

A few moments later there was a thunderclap as Vex burst free from the clouds, ducked down, and with a large swoop, grabbed ahold of Shojah by his hand and tugged him away as the clouds opened up, unloading a torrential downpour of rain upon Reg. Regulus screamed and wailed, his body sizzling and turning into smoke. He staggered around, trying to get to safety but there was nowhere to hide from the rain. He hit the ground, body convulsing as it slowly dissolved away into nothing but wisps of smoke that faded on the wind as Vex deposited Shojah in a clearing far away, landing to the ground.

"That...let's not do that again." Vex gasped out, trying to catch his breath.

"You're a worthy opponent." Shojah admitted, nodding his head. "This time...I let you live." He said.

"Fine by me." Vex remarked, dusting himself off. "You were skilled as well. But tell me...why are YOU in Blood Sport?"

"...I can't tell you." Shojah muttered, looking away. "I can tell no one."

He wished he could, though. He wished he could.

...

...

...

... "BAM! Did you SEE the look on Reg's face when he realized he was beaten?" Nick asked as Erin, Ember, Zim, May, Darth, Red and Purple headed to the teleporter room. Nick was soon to participate in a match. He didn't know who his opponent would be, but he was eager to get back to butt-kicking.

"I didn't SEE anything." Darth remarked, grinning slightly.

"I really was impressed with Vex." Erin told them all, nodding her head. "He fought very honorably, and that was some quick thinking that he and Shojah came up with. It's a shame that this completion forces them to be enemies. They worked so well together..."

"Sometimes there can be something divine found, even in Hell." Darth intoned. "I've read of that in "Dante's Inferno"."

"That's some seriously good imagery, my friend." Ember remarked. "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here..."

"This competition is the eleventh circle of hell." May commented, shaking her head. "**And lo and behold, people will be forced to fight cannibals, witches, and people who can melt stuff with their mind so others may be entertained by senseless cruelty. And it shall be called the eleventh circle of hell, where all the criminally cruel shall be kept. Dante then cried like a little girl and ran home to his mommy**."

"What's the tenth circle?" Zim inquired, blinking a few times.

"It's too scary to talk about." May insisted.

BWOOOOOOM!

A thunderclap rippled through the air and all of a sudden an enormous, surging blast of wind rushed through the hallway. They shielded their eyes as an enormous, glowing light blinded their sight for a few moments, save for Darth, who simply blinked, unable to SEE anything, but feeling something...coming. A mental presence merging from out of thin air.

"...what...is THIS?" He asked.

A pair of hands grabbed the side of his head and a human, a woman not older than thirty four, looked deep into Darth's unseeing eyes. "You're still here." She realized. "And not dressed as...ah, I must be in 2009." She realized, standing up and stepping back. She was wearing a tight-fitting white bra and had a belt filled with various weapons, a rifle strapped to her back, a very harshly bleeding chest wound, and a glowing gem embedded in the center of a necklace she wore. Her hair was hanging down to her shoulders, and she had heterochromia, with the same colored eyes as...

"Ember?" Darth whispered, eyes widening.

"There is NO way I'd ever wear that." Ember said, looking at the ugly-looking belt.

"You laugh now." The woman said, chuckling slightly, her chuckling dissolving into coughing. "But...it's not that funny...what's soon to happen, I mean." She told them all, leaning against the wall. "It's...it's that assassin...Jana. She tries to eliminate the Tallest. She succeeds, and...and Zim takes over eventually with her help."

"I...I what?" Zim asked, walking forward.

The future Ember coughed madly, some blood bursting out from the insides of her mouth as she slid down the wall and Zim tried to hold her up. "She waited a while to get rid of Erin...but Zim still found out...and he realized I was next. You still loved me, so...so you sent me back in time with THIS." She said, pointing at the gem in her necklace. "Chaos Emerald shard...chronokinetic power...but...Head Advisor Black wouldn't let me go without giving me THIS..." She said, pointing at the wound in her chest.

She turned to Zim, eyes beginning to dim as she gripped his little hand, speaking softly, sadly. "Zim...I'm so sorry. I knew we should have stopped her sooner, but at first it all seemed so grand...so many missed chances though...so many times I should have told you how much I lo-"

But she didn't finish. Her form slumped to the ground and was still, never to move again. Zim clutched her body tightly as Nick looked at Red and Purple and Erin nervously spoke up.

"What are we going to do?" She asked.

"I say we find her..."

Zim held his head to the still future-Ember's head, tears trickling down his cheeks. _"And we rip her damn heart out."_


	9. Sleights of Hand and Sadism

_Zor and his "patron" belong to __**swiblet**__, Myo belongs to __**telekonomo**__, and Dr. Keek and Dr. Nimbus belong to __**almightytallestvoldy**__ and __**critical-error**__ respectively. _

_

* * *

__**BLOOD SPORT: ROUND 8**_

_**Lox vs Spring vs Sadi**_

_**

* * *

**I can scarcely believe it. There's been a lot of things that were just DUMPED into my lap. Zim turning me into an Irken. Being trained to kill for an empire I barely knew and barely respected. Having to go through a lifetime away from my home, silently and secretly missing it every day and night. But I put up with it and endured it because I found love and companionship. I wouldn't have made it through if not for love. _

_I guess this is why Zim is so furious. Because somebody is trying to take away his tether to a good life..._

* * *

"I can't believe it." Erin remarked as she kneeled by the Future-Ember with the others crowding around. "Jana's really going to do all that?"

"Maybe we should kill Zim now and get it over with." Red suggested, a big grin coming over his face. He stepped forward and cracked his knuckles, eager to get started.

"No, I think we should find _Jana _and play a few rounds of "Who's your Daddy" with her FACE!" Nick snarled, slamming his fist into his palm.

"How do we even know that she was telling the truth?" Purple wondered. "I mean, we're all just taking her for her word. How do we even know this isn't some cyborg or something sent back through the past to fool us all?"

Zim nervously chuckled. "Yeah, pretending to be from the future to fool somebody, that's...that's something. Nobody's ever done THAT before."

Present-Ember looked over at Zim. "Wait...Zim, what did she mean when she said what she said about Er-"

"I've got it. Her mind might still be alive enough." Darth intoned as he carefully got on his knees and shimmied over in the direction of her body. Zim gently lifted the Future-Ember's corpse into the blind Irken's arms as he placed a hand upon her head. "Let me see if she WAS honest."

**FLASH!**

"C'MON!" Future-Ember screamed as she slammed her fist into the control console of the computer she stood at. "C'MOOON!" She howled. "Why won't it work?"

"It is too bad you are not religious. A little miracle would be most helpful right now." Future-Darth said, shaking his head. He wore large white robes that vaguely resembled those of a Tallest, save for the silver necklace around his neck and lack of cut-off thumb. He had grown taller with time, and was now currently looking through a large cabinet that was situated to the far right of Ember. "There must be something in here that can be of aid."

"I'm glad that Zim sent Jana off planet on some bogus mission so we could find something to destroy her with, but this time machine isn't working!" She snapped, gesturing at the computer she'd been looking at, eyes balefully glaring at the blind Irken. But they were more filled with sorrowful desperation than anger. "I can't believe I let it get so far. I trusted him so much..."

"When you're in obsessive love, you tend to lose sight of the rest of the world." Future-Darth admitted. "But..." He reached into the cabinet, grinning broadly. "There's still a chance." He told her as she walked over to him. He held up a sliver of something in his hand, looking proud. "We can stop all of this. This was White's birthday present..."

"I don't think I'll be able to go back in time on that little piece alone." Future-Ember wondered.

"No...you won't..." A horrible voice spoke up. They turned their heads as Black stood there, eyes alit with pitiless fire. "But won't it be fun to **try**?"

**FLASH!**

"AAAAUUUH!!!" Darth howled, scrambling back and knocking Purple over, making him moan in pain. "My Lord, my **GOD**, it...it was HORRIBLE." He whispered. "Absolutely horrible. Everything she said was true." He told them all.

"We have to get moving then." Erin insisted. "Where IS Jana anyhow?"

...

...

...

...A Tallest in yellow armor was lying on a seat in a diner, wearing a yellow headband and wristbands that had flashy sequins. He pressed a button on a stereo as he slowly rose up, and a song began to play.

_**I've paid my dues...time after time...I've done my sentence...but committed no crime!**_

He began to step forward, onto the floor of the diner as it shone slightly, freshly waxed, and he began to make slow, steady sweeps around the room, arms held out.

_**And bad mistakes...I've made a few...I've had my share of sand kicked in my face,**_

_**But I've come throooough!**_

Now he spun around in the air, landing deftly on the ground as he continued to slide across the waxed floor, a very large and fat purple-eyed fry cook in a hat sitting nearby, a huge spatula across his back as he calmly waited for Spork to finish what he was doing.

_**Weeee are the champions my frieeeeend! And weeeee'll keep on fighting...'till the eeeeend!  
**_

Spork now reached up towards the heavens, then spread his arms wide as he spun around on the floor in a pirouette. He then did a cartwheel, continuing to roll on the ground.

_**Weeee are the champions, weeeee are the champiooooons...**_

"Nooooo tiiiime for loooseeeers, cuz weeee aaaare the chaaampioooons..." Spork sang out as he finally came to a large flourish in the center of the room, spinning around rapidly before stopping with a dramatic pose. "Of the woooooorld!"

"Lovely, lovely." Sizz-Lorr commented, clapping his hands. "You just wasted all of my wax for the week JUST so you can practice this birthday gift for your daughter?"

"HEY!" Spork snapped angrily. "My darling Erin's birthday is in three days, and NOTHING is going to stop me from finally fixing my relationship with her. We've been on thin ice for too long." He told Sizz-Lorr as he skated over to the fry lord, folding his arms. "She always wanted to do things like ride horses and go ice skating and see movies with me. I'm going to make sure we do everything a father and daughter should."

"Ohhhh, isn't that _sweet_." A voice called out.

Spork and Sizz-Lorr turned their heads to see Jana was standing there, hands on her hips. "I _HATE _sweet." She muttered, dark green eyes narrowed.

"...well." Spork looked her over. "I recognize those eyes from quite some time ago. Jana, aren't you? The artist?"

"I'm an ASSASSIN now." She informed Spork. "And most unfortunately, you happen to be my target." She said in a tone that revealed she clearly wasn't sorry at all.

"I've got this, my Tallest." Sizz-Lorr commented calmly, pulling out his spatula from off his back, twirling it around as the ends sparkled with electricity. "C'mon, you tasty dish. I'm sending you back to the kitchen."

...

...

...

... "I'm worried." May said as she sat on a bench with Nick. Bo and Ian sat next to her as the doctor looked their child over. "What if something's wrong with Nora?"

"Nothing's wrong with her." Nick insisted. "She's going to turn out just fine." He said, squeezing May's hand.

"Doctor's log, number twenty two..." A thin, rather lanky sort of Irken remarked, his dark grey eyes glittering as he stood near a fire. "Number twenty-three...number twenty-four..."

He continued to toss wooden logs into the fire until, finally, he decided he'd thrown enough in and turned around, going over to a nearby tape recorder and picking it up. "After CAREFUL examination of the patient, I've concluded there's DEFINITELY something wrong with her. For starters, she's exploding things."

The young Vortian baby waved her hands around in the air as various doctor equipment whizzed around it's head as it bounced around on the table. Every once in a while she pointed at a vial or a glass jar or something that made a nice "CHA-KSSSH" sound when it shattered and the thing blew up. Dr. Keek, Dr. Nimbus's kindly fellow physician, was hiding in a closet from the child.

"I suspect that a latent gene has been awakened. It remained recessive in both parents, but has come to the front in this child...which is FREAKIN' AWESOME." Dr. Nimbus decided. "I have only one concern. That said child may send me to a place the baby continues to call "The Cornfield"."

"You're not talking about me being BAD, are 'oo?" The baby asked, turning it's head around to look at Dr. Nimbus. "I'll send ya 'oo da COHN-FEE-ULD."

"...noooooo." He said, shaking his head. "Lollipop?" He asked, getting a lollipop from out of his labcoat pocket. The kid immediately made it float over to her, and she ripped the wrapper off, sucking away on it. Her pupils then dilated and she hit the table she'd been lying on, snoozing away.

"That was easy." Dr. Nimbus commented. "Note to self...drugging people solves EVERYTHING. Parking tickets, taxes, annoying patients..." He put the tape recorder away and picked the Vortian baby up, heading back outside and giving it to it's parents. "Here you go!" He said. "No problems whatsoever!" He lied through his teeth. "But if it starts exploding, let me know."

"Huh?" Nick remarked, blinking a few times.

"Lollipop?" The doctor said quickly, holding it up in the air.

"Oooooh." Bo took it from the doctor's hands, making Ian "harrumph" as his brother leaned against the wall, sucking on it. He soon fell unconscious as his brother sniggered madly and the doctor went back inside to work on his "doctor's logs".

"Is she gone?" Dr. Keek called out nervously, poking his head out.

Nick gently rocked the snoozing Nora back and forth in his arms, a swell of pride filling his heart. "She's so soft and gentle." He whispered.

"She's ours." May said happily, patting him on the shoulder as Nora's eyes slowly fluttered open, looking up at her father. Nick gently stroked her head as he began to sing sweetly to her.

_**Nothing's gonna haaaarm yoooou, not while I'm arooouuund...**_

_**Nothing's gonna haaaarm you, no sir, not while I'm arooouuund...**_

Nora gently hummed along with him as May smiled down at her daughter, pink gazing into pink.

_**Demons are prowling ev-ery-where now-a-daaays...**_

_**I'll send 'em howling, I don't care, I got waaaays...**_

Nick smiled gently down at Nora as he held her closer to his chest, and she buried her head in him as he caressed her sweetly.

_**No one's gonna hurt you, no one's gonna daaaare...**_

_**Others can desert you, not to worry, whistle, I'll be there!**_

_**Demons will charm you with a smile, for a while, but in tiiiime...**_

_**Nothing can harm you...not while IIIII'm arooooouuuund...**_

"Daddy..." She murmured, eyes closing as she nestled into his chest.

_**Nothing can harm you...not while IIII'm arooooound...**_ Nick whispered.

...

...

...

...Lox brushed back his antennae slightly as he looked over the enormous peaks of the mountain region that he'd been teleported to for the fight. His blue outfit made him slightly stand out, but he didn't really care about that. He'd stolen his weight in elite Irken technology, and he was determined to put it to good use.

He shielded his eyes as he looked up at the cloudy sky, frowning slightly. What was with all of these clouds? Odd. He shrugged, then began walking forward across the rocky path that led up one of the topmost peak. He could see a large cave near the top. If he could take some shelter there, he would be able to get a good lookout over these rocky ranges and hopefully get a kind of edge over-

He heard the sound of snoozing. He frowned slightly, but tensed up and carefully tiptoed the sound of the snoozing, peeking over a large cluster of rocks to see an Irken in black and white garb with...all too familiar eyelashes and red-holed antennae.

SADI. Sadist. HERE.

Ooh, this was too good. Just too good! She was just lying there, taking a nap! And making...noises. Like an animal squealing, he thought. He shrugged and his PAK extended a translucent tube that wrapped around him as two large gauntlets shot out onto his wrists. He grinned to himself in a sadistic fashion of his own. Nice and quick, simple and easy. Normally he wouldn't have just shot at a snoozing girl, but he knew all too well that Sadi was simply too dangerous to just leave alone. The sooner he bumped her off, the better.

The top of his gauntlets opened up, and shimmering shuriken blades shot out, whizzing through the air at Sadi and...

They missed her. COMPLETELY. Furthermore, they embedded on either side of her and woke her up, making her frown and rub her eyes free of grit.

"What was THAT about?" She snapped, looking at Lox. "Oh, it's you. The pale, lanky magician. You know, you probably taste awful." She admitted. "But I don't like anybody disturbing my nap. I'm not a morning person."

"Oh, you don't want to see a...MAGIC TRICK?" He asked, flourishing his gauntleted hands as a hat suddenly opped out of his PAK, along with a magic wand. She blinked a few times as he tapped the hat, and then reached inside. Her eyes immediately went "Bambi-style" and widened in awe as he pulled out a small, furry creature that went "Kupo", the red ball atop it's head bobbing.

"What the?!" Tak, who was sitting with Dib in the cafeteria with Zim and Ember, gaped at the display screen that was showing the match. "How'd THAT get in there?"

"It's magic, silly." Ember said simply, shrugging.

"Yeah, don't try and figure it out. You ruin magic by questioning how it works." Zim informed Tak. "Basic Magical standards must be followed."

"Yeah, how DARE you try and bring logic into this!" Dib thought out loud, smiling slightly as Tak light-heartedly punched him on the shoulder.

Sadi clapped her hands as she looked at the moogle. "Oooooh, it's so cuuuute!" She said, now very distracted.

"Well, I've got another nice surprise for you." He said, putting the moogle back in the hat and putting the hat down after pulling out a deck of cards. He shuffled them, spinning them through the air with a grand flourish before finally spraying them out in his hand. "Here, pick the top five cards." He said, giving the deck to Sadi.

Sadi took the top five cards and looked the first one over as Lox turned around and high-tailed it up the mountain path, noticing the first one read "FIVE" in big letters with a large smiley face beneath the letters. The next one also had a smiley face and read "FOUR". And the next read "THREE"...

"Uhoh." Tak said, eyes widening.

"This is gonna hurt." Dib realized as Sadi looked down at the moogle, which popped it's head out of the hat and opened up it's mouth to reveal a large fuse that was quickly going down into the throat.

"Oh sh-" Sadi mumbled.

**KA-BLOOOOOOOOEY!  
**

...

...

...

...Lox calmly leaned against the wall of the cave he'd taken refuge in and looked his knuckles over as the camera drone that had been following him around got his "good side". "I gotta say, I really do enjoy putting on a show." He told the camera. "Above all, you need to know your audience, and know what they want. And of course, everybody loves a good explosion!"

It was then that a sniffing sound was heard. Lox stiffened up as he turned to the side to see a female Irken with a yellow band in her antennae and a thick yellow stripe on her reddish/purple outfit looking at him. She had his scent, and was holding onto a thick hunting knife. "Hello." She commented cheerily.

"...how long have you been in here." Lox said. He didn't ask. He said. He'd turned even paler than usual.

"Ten minutes. I was hanging from the ceiling until you came in. I can be very...very...quiet." She whispered, slinking forward, her knife carefully stroking the bottom of his chin. "Now..." She looked into his eyes, her knife slowly moving down to his neck. "Since I'm in a good mood, I'm going to give you five minutes to run." She informed him in a fashion that was almost kindly.

Lox took off like a bat out of hell from the cave, gasping and panting as he raced down the mountainside, running for his life as Spring calmly looked down at her wrist, pretending she had a watch. "Ooh, time to get going. Minutes, seconds, I'm just HORRID at math." She sneered, rushing down the hill, sheathing her knife as she took off after Lox, holding up a hunting rifle and laughing sadistically.

Meanwhile, a hand filled with white claws punched it's way out of a large pile of rubble, and Sadi slowly stood up, black eyes filled with loathing. "I WAS just going to rip your throat out." She whispered angrily, eyes burning at the memory of Lox. "Now...you die a LOT...MORE...**PAINFULLY!**" She screamed.

Ember nervously bit her lip, then stood up from the table. "Zim, I need to talk to you alone." She said.

Zim should have recognized the concerned tone in her voice. Instead, he shrugged and walked off towards the lounge. He and Ember entered and the heterochromia-affected human locked the door, turning to Zim.

"Zim...why didn't you tell me about Erin?" Ember asked quietly, frowning slightly.

Zim blinked a few times. "What do you mean?"

"You said you knew Erin as a friend. You never told me that Erin was a **GIRLFRIEND** type of friend." She told Zim.

"Look, sometimes you...you keep things hidden to protect the people you care about." Zim reasoned nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Congratulations, you sound JUST like my stupid drunk dad, I...GOD. Zim, this..." She looked away, turning to the side. "This isn't working out."

"...what do you mean?" Zim asked quietly, eyes widening slightly.

"US." She said.

"...what?" Zim squeaked out, suddenly feeling much, much smaller. His body began to tremble as his entire form was gripped in a sheet of ice that began to fill him from the inside out.

"I'm not a moron, Zim, I-I know what I look like." Ember mumbled, her voice beginning to crack. "I know we can't...it couldn't work."

"Ember, NO!" Zim half demanded, half pleaded, tears burning down his cheeks. "Please, I'm sorry! W-Why are you doing this to Zim?!"

"Don't worry about trying to fix the future, Zim. I wouldn't be in yours anyhow." Ember whispered, leaving the room as Zim turned around and bit into his arm to keep from crying.

It didn't work.

...

...

...Lox panted as he hid himself behind a rocky outcropping, hearing Spring call out for him. "YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME FOREVER!" She snarled, her eyes glowing orange and filled with fury. Lox took deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself, trying to get his senses back.

Deep breaths, deep breaths, he thought. You've gotta get out of this alive, you can't even THINK about dying or you'll freeze up! You just have to take advantage of her little anger problem.

He closed his eyes slowly and began to think. Alright, what did he know about this girl, Spring? Think, he thought to himself. THINK. He knew he'd seen her face somewhere before but-

Wait. He HAD seen her face before. On the news. She'd been on the run after she hunted down and killed some of her classmates. She'd been experimented on, hadn't she? Which meant that...

_Yes_. Yes, he had an idea on how to beat her.

"Oh Spriiiiiing?" The blue-eyed magician called out sweetly as his gauntlets popped out two small balls. He grinned to himself as he stepped out behind the rocky outcropping, looking at Spring. "I'm sorry for running away from you. But if you're going to kill me anyway, might I be able to put on one last magic act?" He requested.

"...well...alright." She decided, sighing. "But THEN I'm shooting you." She told him, pointing at her hunting rifle.

"Alright, this is gonna be a good trick." He told her, tossing the balls around in the air, juggling them. More and more balls popped out of his gauntlets as he continued to juggle them. Before Spring's eyes, they began to change color, and a camera drone circled overhead, capturing everything.

"What's he doing?" Dib asked, scratching his head as the juggling got faster and faster.

"...wait." Tak's eyes narrowed. "I was in training to become an Elite, I RECOGNIZE those balls." She whispered. "Shock Caps. Like paralysis-inducing bombs, but instead their job is to provide brief, stunning shocks rather than lasting paralysis. You can tell when they're ready when they reach a certain color..."

"What's the color?" Dib wanted to know.

Suddenly Lox spread one hand out and one of the balls bounced off his palm, turning a bright yellowish/gold. It promptly exploded in Spring's face as electricity crackled from the insides, blowing it apart. At the sound of the crackling and the flash of the light that the ball brought, Spring screamed in utter terror, memories of torture at the hands of shock collars quickly rising to the front of her mind as she reeled back, stumbling around. He flung more and more of the balls at her, forcing her backwards as he grinned.

"Not so tough now, are you?" He told her, looking smug. "A little crickle-crackle and you go down so easily." He shook his head as she stumbled backwards, tripping over a rock and letting go of her hunting rifle as he approached her, aiming his gauntlet at her head, a blade slowly poking out the top. "If you hold still, this will hurt much less." He offered in a fashion that was almost kind.

"You can't fight **fair**?" She snapped angrily. "You have to use those parlor tricks? You can't just beat me one-on-one? Me, a GIRL?" She added, looking offended that he was playing on her insecurity.

"It wouldn't be smart." Lox told her. "You can't be chivalric in this contest. It's nothing personal, really." He insisted as the blade began to spin around rapidly, about to cut through her neck.

"Oh LOOOOOX..." A voice sweetly called out.

Lox stiffened and turned around to see Sadi standing there, drool dripping down from her maw as she licked her lips. "You didn't really think you could get rid of me so easily, did you?" She asked. "TWO can play hard-ball."

She lunged at Lox, who barely jumped away in time, then skittered around on the ground as he fired off his blades at her, whilst Spring quickly ran off to hide. Lox continued to fire off his blades, but soon a CHUNKA-CHUNK sound told him he was out of ammo. "Oh SHIT." He muttered as Sadi jumped at him, slashing across his chest.

Lox screamed in pain as blood spilled out onto the ground, and Sadi pinned him beneath her, her long tongue slowly slipping out of her mouth, preparing to choke him. "I'm going to take my time with you, since you were so nice enough to trick me like you did." She said, sneering darkly.

"Nooooo..." Lox whimpered as the tongue came closer to him. _I don't wanna die I don't wanna die I don't wanna-_

PA-POW.

Sadi was sent flying backwards through the air...and she slammed into a rocky crag. There was a KRACKING sound.

She lay still. Unmoving. Lox turned to see Spring lowering her hunting rifle and she looked at him. "Don't be too grateful for that. I was only saving you for myself. Now get to running." She said, giving him an impatient look.

Lox was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He raced across the mountain plains, heading up one of the topmost steeples on his pack legs, then leaping through the air. With a mighty bound, he landed on the far side of another rock face, then his PAK legs sprang out, and he scuttled up to a cliff at the top. Spring reloaded her rifle, then extended her own PAK legs, heading after him.

But then she noticed that there was something blinking at the top of the cliff. Lox held up a small remote with a single red button, a circular bomb placed far above her head, ready to be detonated. He gave her a cheerful wave, then stepped far away, his clawed digit pressing the button.

**SHA-KROOOOM-BAAAAH!**

An enormous flurry of rocks and rubble and cliff face barreled down towards Spring as her eyes turned blue in fear and horror. Lox calmly turned away from the cliff face as he reached into his pockets and pulled out a small bottle of cognac. "Had to blow up almost half a mountain, but I beat her." He said as the clouds began to slowly move in, covering the entire place in a hazy sort of mist. "Spring, my dear...here's to you." He toasted, holding the bottle up.

"Awww, that's so sweet of you." Spring's voice called out.

He turned around, gasping at the sight of her form standing there within the mist, and she moved out of the cloud's edge into full view, gazing intently at him. "B-back from the-the dead?!?" He gasped.

"Back from the dead indeed!" She told him angrily, hands on her hips. "If I hadn't slipped under that outcropping to the side while I was climbing up to get to you, I would have been dead as a doornail!" She told Lox, eyes narrowing.

"Well...better late than never!" He snarled, rushing forward, bottle held up over his head.

SCWHING!

_KRRSSSH!_

A knife tossed through the air broke the bottle into a hundred pieces and Lox gulped as he looked at Spring, smirked proudly. "Nice throw, eh?" She told him. "I told you that you couldn't hide from me. Now..."

Another knife whizzed through the air. Lox let out a pained gasp as the knife tore into his throat. His knees hit the ground and darkness swept up to meet him. Mercifully, his death came in a matter of seconds as a great numbness filled his body.

_At least it doesn't hurt..._ was the last thought through his head before his eyes dulled into nothingness and Spring sighed, sitting down atop the cliff with the body. Now SHE needed a drink.

Far, far below, Sadi's body twitched, and a small smile spread across her lips as she rose back up...

...

...

...

... "GIR, where are you taking me? What's so damn important that you had to interrupt me playing Piggy May Cry 4?!?" A purple-haired, dark-dress-wearing girl muttered as she walked next to GIR.

"Her." GIR said, pointing across the hallway at four figures that were standing by a soda machine. One of them was whacking the machine over and over with what appeared to be some kind of wand. She had purplish hair and a light blue bow in said hair, with a pair of pretty, red, butterfly-like wings attached to her back. Next to her was a little robotic cat with cute red eyes and a tail that swished back and forth. It looked at GIR and nervously smiled, waving a paw at him.

"The cat?" Gaz asked.

"Her name's Chibi." GIR said, a dreamy expression on his face. "Her owner, Myo, she's a sweetie. I have also composed a poem I will read to her!" He announced, holding up a sheet of paper.

"No." Gaz immediately said, grabbing the sheet of paper and eating it on the spot.

"...ohhhhh." GIR moaned.

"She looks like she's five, six years old." Gaz told GIR. "Just cozy up to her owner with ice cream or something."

GIR'S eyes widened. "Ice cream? Of COURSE." He realized, rushing off to get said ice cream. Gaz rolled her eyes and was about to walk away when...

She noticed the other person standing at the soda machine. I mean REALLY noticed him. He was perhaps the coolest-looking thing she'd ever seen. A tall Irken with rather dark green eyes and slightly pale green skin, half of his body was all black. He wore a dark cloak over his form, and his antennae swept down, forming the insignia of the Irken Empire.

"...ooooooh." She mumbled, eyes widening slightly, becoming their beautiful golden/amber color. "He looks like Vampire Hunter P's demon trigger form from Piggy-May-Cry 4!" She commented to herself.

Zor, the person she was ogling, noticed the girl was looking at her and raised a non-existent eyebrow. A voice in his head spoke up. _"Hmm."_ It whispered. _"For some strange reason, I feel a kinship of dark nature coming from that child." _

"Yes, well..." Zor thought as he walked off. "Redeye, what about this "Trik" character. Tell me more about him."

_"He's taken my offer. Soon all the pieces will fall into place and you'll have your dear little one back." _

"You sound nervous."

His "patron" sounded momentarily offended. "Why, that's just...I would never...well, since you do point it out, I agree...something has been disturbing me. There is a new player in the game..."

GIR, meanwhile, was now standing in front of Myo, who looked down at him as he held up a large cartoon of Peppermint Stick ice cream. "Ohhhh, aren't you just the cutest little thing?" She said, picking him up and squeezing his metal cheeks. "Chibi, come here!" She called out as the metal cat walked over to her master and Myo placed GIR down next to her. "Look at this cutey. He gave me ice cream!" Myo said, holding up the carton.

GIR's eyes softened as he looked into Chibi's. Chibi smiled broadly in response.

_**Why do birds...suddenly appear...every time...you are near?**_

_**Just like me...they long to be...close to yooooou...**_

...

...

...

...Spork ran for his life as he raced through the space port as Sizz-Lorr's electrified spatula crashed with Jana's energy sword. The two of them had been brawling for ten minutes and neither one had given an inch.

"Give it up, girl." Sizz-Lorr demanded. "It's on my honor to defend the Tallest." With that he shoved her back and she went flying into a wall, smacking into it hard and slumping to the ground. She frowned angrily, standing back up and twirling her energy sword in the air before leaping back at him, slashing downward. He held his spatula up and blocked the oncoming onslaught of slices and slashes from her sword.

"You stupid fool! Blindly clinging to such a belief...there's no room for obeying snack-obssessed, lazy fools in the Irken empire any more than there's room for allowing diplomacy and idealism!" Jana hissed.

"You know nothing about the way the world works." He told her, his PAK suddenly bulging as a jet pack extended out from it. He slammed fully into her and the two of them went flying over Foodcourtia's skies as he slammed the butt of his spatula into her gut, finally driving her into a big sign advertising his own restaurant. "In your world, there are only targets and future targets, assassin." He spat. "All you do is kill for a living. Easy work. I slaved for years at a hot stove!" He snapped, punching her across the face and sending her flying onto a roof as Spork climbed into the cockpit of a taxi. "I worked every day of my life, climbed my way to the top!"

"Where to, sir?" The driver asked.

"Vort. I need to see a friend on a space station and FAST." He demanded, forking over a large chunk of bills. "STEP ON IT."

"I made a living out of serving people, and it was satisfying." Sizz-Lorr said proudly, slamming his fist into his chest as he landed on the roof, across from Jana. "You want hard work...try flipping patties!" He laughed.

Jana stood up, then held up a small remote. Sizz-Lorr then noticed that there was something that had dropped off her body, rolling out of her pocket...and it was right below him. "Oh f—k-" He announced.

SCHZAAAAARRRRK!

Sizz-Lorr hit the ground with a thud, moaning in pain and twitching as the paralysis bomb continued to shock him, while Jana watched a taxi fly off into the starry skies above. She looked down at her wrist as a small, circular display screen showed a small blip heading off the radar. The tracking device she'd managed to fire at Spork as he'd run screaming out of the restaurant. Excellent.

...

...

...

...Spring was using her PAK legs to climb down the mountain face, humming to herself. She was very, very satisfied, as was Nexus, who's chest gem was glowing slightly as he addressed her through a camera drone. "Wonderful, wonderful. I must say, you've done a first-rate job, my dear." He informed Spring as she reached the bottom of the mountain, hopping down in front of a cave and dusting herself off as the PAK legs retracted into her PAK.

"It's not a big deal." She told the camera drone, shrugging. "He wasn't much of a fighter."

"Well, if you hated him, you'll _**LOVE**_ me."

Spring was kicked backwards, claws raking across her back as she hit the rocky ground. Sadi stood away from her, lowering her foot as she gave Spring a nasty smile. "Hey there, girly." She laughed. "You didn't really think I'd be so easily slain, now did you?" She asked.

"It would have been NICE." Spring muttered as she got back up, holding up a hunting knife. Sadi and Spring circled each other, one holding up a knife, the other holding claws, eyes black as coal and lacking soul staring into orange eyes, passionate and fiery. "But I can take you." She told Sadi.

"What was that?" Sadi laughed, flashing her teeth.

"I SAID, I can take-"

"RAAAAAAHHH!!!" Sadi howled, lunging forward and slashing at Spring, who jumped away. Sadi chased after Spring, slashing and slicing with her claws as Spring cartwheeled away from the cannibalistic Irken, then leapt backwards through the air, firing off her hunting knife. It missed, hitting the ground as Sadi jumped forward and sliced Spring across the forehead.

Luckily it wsan't too deep, but it was deep enough to make blood pour down. "NAAAUUUUH..." Spring moaned, stepping back, head swimming as Sadi calmly advanced, curling and uncurling her claws.

"Soooo sorry about this." She crooned. "But you really did bring it on yourself. If anybody was going to kill and eat that lanky magician, it should have been me, and you stole that victory from me. So now...I'm going to collect. In blood." She sneered, pinning Spring to the ground and raising her claws up. "And the bill is due..."

Spring's hand shot up and grabbed Sadi's claws, interlocking with her. Sadi blinked in surprise...

And Spring's foot shot up. With a mighty heave, Spring launched Sadi through the air and she fell down, down, down a rocky hill, her body slamming into rocks over and over, bones cracking and snapping as she screeched in pain.

At long last her form came to a stop and Spring walked down the hill, stepping over Sadi's body and then turning around to face the cannibal. Sadi's mouth was filling with blood, her eyes glazing over, partially blind as she twitched and spasmed on the ground, legs bent at an unnatural angle.

"This c-c-can't be...can't be happening...can't p-possibly be...happening..." She mumbled.

Spring frowned. She was sure she should say something. Some nasty insult, some cold-hearted quip. But...but Sadi's blood-filled mouth spluttering in denial of her fate was too...pitiful. Instead, she sighed and one of her PAK legs extended, reaching out to Sadi's neck. With a quick and swift SCHLUK, it went through her, ending the cannibal's suffering.

Nexus's chest gem glowed even more brightly and a devilish smile crossed his features as he placed his hands together. "I can see I'm going to really ENJOY this girl's matches." He said, his camera drone getting a good image of the triumphant Spring.

...

...

...

... "Well, that was...a savage match." Dr. Keek said as he sat near Skoodge and Tenn, whilst Frequency was playing a game of checkers with Dr. Nimbus.

"Pow, right in the kisser." The blue-furred bounty hunter commented as he moved one of his pieces to the end of the board. "King me." He told the doctor.

"Thanks for agreeing to play with me." Dr. Nimbus said cheerily.

"No problem, dude." Frequency said, whistling a little tune as he reached into over to the side, taking a sip from a bottle he had near him. The doctor noticed the strange smell in the air...and the COLOR. Green...like Irken...like Irken...

"What is _that_?." The doctor commented, blinking slowly, shaking slightly.

_**It's priest. Have a bit 'a priest.**_ Frequency commented, holding the bottle up to the doctor, who gaped at the bottle.

"You really think it's _good_?"

_**Oh it's TOO good at least! Then again they don't commit sins of the flesh...so this s—t is fresh!**_ He smacked his lips free of his drink.

"I don't suppose you'd drink...doctor?" Dr. Nimbus asked, nervously inching away.

"Nope." Frequency said, shaking his head. "_**Your blood type's too thick, it would make me real sick, and I ain't one to stay in my bed. No offense but, I don't want your blood to make me diseased...so I'll stick with priest! **_The bounty hunter commented, sipping the drink again. Dr. Keek's eyes rolled back, and he promptly fainted on the ground at the sight of the blue-furred being gulping down the bottle.

"...what's REALLY in there?" Skoodge asked.

"Pickle juice." Frequency laughed, holding the bottle up so they could look inside. "I sure got that shoobie good, didn't I?"

"Pickle-**URK**." Skoodge moaned, holding his hands over his mouth.

"Hmm. Keek looks really sick. Somebody should call a doctor." Nimbus said.

Everyone gave him a look. "You ARE a doctor!!!" Skoodge muttered angrily, making Nimbus blink stupidly before he shrugged and dragged Keek off.

"Zim! Hey!" Tenn called out, seeing Zim walk by, a pale expression on his face. "Have a seat. What's wrong?" She asked in her cute southern accent.

"...sigh." Zim sat down next to Skoodge. "...Skoodge, uh...may I...ask you something?"

"What about?"

"...have you and Tenn ever...had problems? I mean...you know. With...IT." He said.

"...it?" Skoodge asked, tilting his head to the side slightly.

"You know. FEELINGS."

"...oh. I see." Skoodge rubbed his chin. "Well, uh...listen, what's bothering you?" He asked kindly.

And Zim found himself crying into his dear friend's body, gripping the fat Irken tightly as he poured out his heart and soul.

"It'll be okay." Skoodge told Zim. "It'll be okay..."

Ember watched the scene from far away, hiding behind a large vending machine, trying to hold back tears of her own.

And failing miserably.


	10. Primum Non Nocere

**_Kuro-musouka _**_owns Loc__, and **PichuK **owns Tav, and all other characters belong to their respective owners.__ Remember that now. _

_

* * *

__**BLOOD SPORT ROUND 9**_

_**Dr. Keek vs Zor vs Renee**_

_**

* * *

**I hate the fact that the worst sort of atrocities committed by the worst kinds of people are never, ever properly justified. A villain never has to explain his actions to another, while a hero must always justify himself, explaining why HE'S right and the villain is wrong. A villain refuses to be judged by anyone, and that alone says much about him. He thinks himself above all criticism, suspended in an ivory tower, shielded in armor. And that makes him very, very vulnerable. _

_

* * *

_"Hello and welcome to "On-Air"!" Tjazz announced over the radio as she grinned broadly, leaning back in her chair. "The only show on the radio waves that's been clinically proven to NOT cause cancer in white lab rats!** Ha-ha! **Tallests Red and Purple are with me today, and they're going to be talking about how excited the latest Rounds of Blood Sport have been! And we're also going to be interviewing one of the fighters, controversial brawler Tav herself."

"Wait, Tjazz, I don't' see why you have to invite HER on the show." Red spoke up, frowning as he steepled his claws. "She is **despicable**!"

**"HOOOOORRIBLE!"** Purple wailed, nodding eagerly. There was "bad" like they were, and then there was just plain evil, and Tav went beyond even "just plain evil" into "sick-sick-sick".

"I know, but this is a liberal show, and I like to get points of view from all sides, and I know she's said and done some pretty provocative things..." Tjazz commented as her little purple, tentalced jelly blob bounced off the top of a nearby globe of Irk.

"Provocative? Lemme find a quote, hold on..." Purple muttered. He held up his communication device embedded in his "hand" and tapped it, looking through some old records of recorded reports. He found one, a news article that had been about a previous Blood Sport contestant who had died horribly and whom people had been interviewed about to judge their reaction to the cannibalistic, monstrous albino. "My only regret with that **DISGUSTING **defect Xix is that he didn't go to the Vortian kindergartens."

"...well. I'm sure that was meant as a...joke of some sort." Tjazz mumbled as her little purple blob began to vomit in a corner.

"HA." Red laughed without humor.

"Anyhow, she's in the Green room, where we keep our guests, and since I have recording equipment hidden within said room..." Tjazz flicked a switch on and they could now hear Tav's cockney accent.

"You! These snacks are not sufficient." Tav demanded. "I want you...what's that nametag say?"

"Uh, Soff."

"...Soff, fetch me better snacks."

"Uh, I kinda am justa janitorial drone. I think maybe you should talk to catering."

Tav snorted furiously and then the sound of choking could be heard. "**DEFECT!** You will be reported to my superiors and taken care of now GET OUT OF MY AMAZING ROOM!!!"

_"GAAAAH!"_

**"YOU ARE MAKING MY SUPERIOR AMAZING PRESENCE LESS SUPERIOR WITH YOUR DEFECTIVENESS PLAGUING IT!"**

A crash as Soff was hurled out of the room and Tav shut the door behind her.

"...wow. She is AWFUL. Do we HAVE to have her on?" Purple asked Tjazz, looking mortified.

"...I've got an idea. I'll see if Soff can lock her inside and turn on the heat..." Tjazz remarked, grinning broadly.

"Ooh. This _pleases _your Tallest." Red told Tjazz, nodding firmly.

Meanwhile, Zim was not pleased.

"You have GOTTA cheer up, Zim." Gaz insisted, shaking her head as she looked Zim over. Zim was currently in the lounge with Skoodge, head leaning against his dear friend's shoulder as Skoodge patted him on the back. "I mean...this is pathetic. Even for you, who practically INVENTED pathetic."

Zim sniffled. "I want her _baaaaaaaaaaaaack_." He whined.

"Good lord, you're like a CHILD!" Dib muttered. "THIS is my big, bad eternal rival? Sometimes I wonder about you." He told Zim, hands on hips.

"It's gonna be alright." Skoodge insisted. "I made a call to a "Professional" in the ways of Love and getting girlfriends back. He's got this huge ad in the phonebook and-"

KNOCK-KNOCK.

They turned to see somebody standing in the doorway, tipless-gloved hands rapping on the door. He had white hair and brightly pink eyes, and was wearing a golden jacket with black straps. "Hello." He said calmly. "Michael White at your service. Am I to guess that lonely, dejected soul is Invader Zim?" He asked, looking Zim over.

"Yes, I am Zim..." Zim mumbled.

"...you're REALLY far gone." White decided, rubbing his chin. "...but I can help you. I am a man of principles and causes."

"Like what?" Gaz asked, looking him over.

"Well, for example, like obscenity." White explained. "...I'm FOR it. Dirty books are FUN, that's all there is to it, but...well, I found out you can't get up in the courtroom and say that. It's a matter of freedom of pleasure, a right sadly not yet guaranteed by the US constitution."

"Yes, aliens hate our country, but LOVE our constitutional protections." Dib admitted, sighing deeply.

"Anyhow, Zim, we're gonna help you get her back. You are going to charm the SOCKS off of her." He told Zim as he helped him off the couch and led him out of the lounge along with Gaz, who was coming along just because she was bored and wanted to see how badly this would screw up. Dib was left alone with Skoodge, and he looked the short and fat Invader over for a little while before speaking up.

"I don't get you." He said.

Skoodge turned to look at him, appearing confused. "What don't you get?"

"I know about your past. I've seen the records, heard Zim's tales. He SHOVED you into the delivery chute back when you were first created in the smeeting factory...he sicced a Dermis Prower Security Droid on you, almost got you eaten by a "Hogulus" twice, he made you sleep in the basement and he tried to blow you up when you took his Emergency Voot Cruiser."

"...yeah, I guess." Skoodge shrugged, stoically nodding.

"I don't know WHAT you see in that pathetic pile of pus, Skoodge! He's been nothing but cruel to you since the day you were born. LITERALLY!" Dib insisted. "He treats you like crap, makes you do ridiculous and life-threatening stuff, and yet you try and help him like this... **WHY **do you consider him your **FRIEND?!**" Dib wanted to know.

Skoodge just smiled broadly, answering simply. "Why is he my friend? Hardly anybody else would talk to me. Or take notice of me. Or think I was useful for anything. I'm short. I'm fat. And he's not ALWAYS bad. It's just his way. We've known each other since we were smeets. Why wouldn't I consider him my friend?"

Dib looked Skoodge over, brown/amber eyes staring into ruby/maroon. And he felt something very much like admiration. Despite everything Zim had done to him, Skoodge felt such loyalty and concern for his childhood friend and wanted to help him when he was hurting. Skoodge knew what Zim was, but he was able to see past it because Zim was his friend. And he seemed "alright" with whatever pain might come from being the childhood buddy of Zim. And that made him pity the fat lump too.

"I just got a bad feeling about all of this." Dib admitted. "...like...something's off."

"That filthy melkremar, Jana...she's still out there." Skoodge spoke quietly, eyes narrowing as they left the room and looked out of a nearby window, his thoughts drifting to the traitor that spat in the face of the will of the people of Irk, would-be Tallest murderer, cowardly assassin, obsessed fanatic, possible defective. "...I don't know what she's up to. But I know it can't be anything good."

...

...

...

... "The problem..." White explained as he walked around in front of a large chalkboard in an abandoned room on the space station above the "Blood Sport" planet, "Is that you're not sexy." He told Zim, who calmly sat with GIR on stools nearby.

"Zim is PLENTY sexy!" Zim exclaimed, trying to gain back his balls. He then looked over at GIR. "GIR, WHY are you here?" He wanted to know, a bit confused. "Answer ZIIIIM!"

"I need to learn how to make the ladies loooove me." GIR explained. "The robo-cat ladies."

"GIR, you've got the potential to be a sex machine." White told him, nodding firmly. "Show me your dance moves."

"Hoo-hah!" GIR promptly leapt off the chair and did the Moonwalk around the room as the entire room was suddenly covered in flashing, multicolored lights, a disco ball descending from the ceiling.

"NIIIIICE." White agreed, nodding in approval.

_**And the whole world has to answer right now, gonna tell you once again-**_

"Who's bad?" GIR finished, striking a pose and holding a pointer finger up into the air in a dramatic fashion as he finished up the dance.

"See?" White asked, pointing at the little robot as Zim blinked a few times. "He gets on the scene like a sex machine. There is nothing I can teach you." He placed his hands together and bowed deeply as a gong rang, and GIR bowed back, repeating the gesture. "You have learned the way of Balance, Daniel-san. Miyagi is proud of you."

Zim watched his robot eagerly skip out of the room and then turned to White. "What about me?" He asked.

"You. Well. For starters, lose the outfit." He told Zim, sniggering. "You need to know, it just won't work, and people will think you less a jerk, because they can't take seriously an invader in a skirt."

"HEY!" Zim yelled angrily.

"C'mon, take it all off." White insisted.

Zim groaned and reached down to pull his shirt off. Sue, walking by, stuck her head in along with several other females and they watched Zim take his shirt/skirt and pants off.

**SFX: BOING!**

"..._oooooooh_." They all said.

And among the Zim fangirls there was **much **rejoicing.

"Now then..." White clapped his hands and grinned broadly. "New dreads, buddy." He told Zim. "First thing's first. We're gonna pimp you up!"

**BGM: The Game of Love, by Katrina and the Waves**

(White grabs Zim, whipping him into a nearby closet. He's soon brought out, wearing a stylish, flashy vest with jeans, his antennae swept low and dark sunglasses on, with a gold necklace. He looks himself over, surprised at his sudden transformation)

_**Zimmy don't know how to win her,**_

_**He ain't go no soul!**_

_**He don't know the Mashed Potato,**_

_**He can't rock and roll!**_

(White now shows him the chalkboard has "stages" written up: Style, Substance, Kissing, Dancing. Zim rubs the back of his neck, inching towards the doorway, but White pulls him back inside)

_**I wonder whyyyyyyyyyyyy…**_

_**He's so shyyyyyyyyyyy…**_

_**Teach him the Game of Love!**_

(The first part, Style, is done. White now shows him a few dance moves, then points at Zim. "Repeat". He mouths. Zim clumsily tries to do the Twist, but falls over on his face, legs sprawled out.)

_**He don't know the Bossa Nova,**_

_**He can't do the Twist!**_

(Now White tries to show him the proper kissing technique. He holds up a Mannequin and delivers a kiss to it. He then hands the mannequin to Zim, who shakes his head rapidly. White forces his lips to the mannequin...which has been switched with Sue, who grins broadly as Zim wipes his mouth off, gagging)

_**He don't know how to roll her over,**_

_**Can he even kiss?**_

_**I wonder whyyyyyyyyyyyy…**_

_**He's so shyyyyyyyyyyy…**_

_**Teach him the Game of Love!**_

(White tries to teach him how to play the guitar. He plucks a few of the strings, and Zim slowly repeats. Piece by piece, Zim learns to play, imitating White as White walks around the room, playing the guitar, Zim following after.)

_**He don't know the Bossa Nova,**_

_**He can't do the Twist!**_

(White shows Zim the mannequin again. Zim screws his courage to the sticking point and sweeps the dummy off it's "feet", holding it's neck and head and delivering a big, sloppy wet one. White, Sue and for some strange reason, Keef, who spontaneously appeared, holds up a "10".)

_**He don't know how to roll her over,**_

_**Can he even kiss?**_

_**I wonder whyyyyyyyyyyyy…**_

_**He's so shyyyyyyyyyyy…**_

_**Teach him the Game of Love!**_

(Now comes the final part. Style is down. Substance is down. Kissing is down. Dancing is the last to go. White does the Moonwalk around the room, and then swerves, pointing dramatically at Zim.)

_**Do! Da-do-do! Do! Da-do-do! Do! Da-do-do! Do! Da-do-do! **_

_**Teach him the Game of Love!**_

(Zim adjusts a white top hat, then tosses it away, doing a dramatic twirl before he moonwalks, imitating White perfectly.)

_**Do! Da-do-do! Do! Da-do-do! Do! Da-do-do! Do! Da-do-do! **_

_**He's learned the Game of Love!**_

_**He can boogie...**_

_**He can twist…**_

_**He can kiss!**_

(White tosses Zim a guitar and Zim grins, holding a guitar pick high up and beaming.)

_**I can ROCK AND ROLL! HA!**_

(He proceeds to jam away on the guitar, twirling around and wailing away in front of White as a horde of obsessive fangirls...and Keef...all cheer and yell and twirl their shirts above their heads.)

_**Come on now…ya gotta get yourself some learnin'!**_

_**It's back to school for you, kid!**_

_**Don'tcha know? Your momma didn't teach you NOTHIN'!**_

_**Oh yeah, yeah! Oh yeah, yeah!**_

(Music ends.)

"This one...is clean." White says, placing his hand on Zim's head.

...

...

...

...Dr. Keek adjusted the gloves he wore as he looked out over the city, his medical robes flowing as the wind blew them backwards. He reached into his belt pouch, looking over the laser scapel in his hands. It was a small, smooth thing with a long handle...and a glowing, light-green laser cutter at the end. He fingered it in his yellow-gloved hands, looking sad, mournful. He felt terrible about all of this.

He was a doctor. He'd taken the Hippocratic Oath. _Primum non nocere_...first, do no harm. Blood Sport was a violation of what he believed in...but he had to do it. He needed the funds that had been offered to him if he were to take part in the competition. Nexus had agreed to pay him a handsome amount of monies which he could use to help his very sickly patients...especially his young patients. He didn't do what he did for the money. He did it because he had a deep devotion to his patients.

He placed his laser scalpel back in the belt as he looked forward at the tall city before him, it's looming towers rising high into a sky that, for once, was not clouded over in darkness. For once, sunlight was shimmering down onto the city, casting gleaming reflections across large patches of glassy surface that had once covered the towers. Even though the city had been ruined, in a way, it looked...almost beautiful.

Dr. Keek headed down the hill and into the city, looking left and right. He had to be on his toes. His opponent could be anywhere.

What he didn't know was that he had OPPONENTS. Not opponent. And one of them was eyeing him from atop one of the buildings. Renee the Vortian looked intently down at the nervous-looking doctor as he continued to search the streets for his next opponent. Her body tensed, ready to leap. She felt bad about what she was going to do...this was a doctor, after all. And he wasn't much taller than her. But she was determined to win this competition. This was a matter of honor.

She held up her wrist communicator. "Lard Nar? Commander Nar, are you there?" She whispered into it.

For a few moments, there was no reply. But then...

"Renee, is that you? Praise the Eternal, this is wonderful! You're alright! You haven't died!...yet!" He sounded unbelievably gleeful. "Oh, isn't it WONDERFUL to be alive, Renee? Isn't it wonderful to be **ALIVE**?"

"...I suppose so, sir." Renee admitted, shrugging.

"Anyhow, how have you been doing?" Lard Nar wanted to know as she leaned against a nearby chimney.

"Well, I've had a few matches so far. One important one was against this woman named Erin. She's an Arosean and-"

"WHAT?!?" Lard Nar sounded infuriated. "You didn't hurt her, did you?!" He wanted to know.

"She's perfectly fine, sir." Renee said quickly, nervously pulling at the top of her tight-fitting outfit.

"Good." Lard Nar said, his tone becoming less furious, though still very much authoritative. "Erin Nightshade is a **_dear _**friend of mine. I don't want you to hurt her. We **CAN'T** become the very monsters that we seek to defeat, Renee. Remember that, if you remember nothing else from your time under my tutelage."

Sometimes Lard Nar could be very wise indeed, Renee thought to herself. She nodded, speaking softly. "I understand, sir."

"Good luck." Lard Nar wished her, and she ended the communications call, heading back to the edge of the building to look down. She saw that Dr. Keek was now going inside of a building.

Helpful. She hopped off, landing on a big dumpster, then hopping off onto the street, chasing after him. From far above, a half-winged, green-eyed being looked down at her as she headed into the building after the doctor.

"...I have never killed an innocent." He murmured quietly. "...I hope I can end things swiftly." He added, his eyes filled with a sad sense of regret at what he had become in order to save the one dearest to him.

...

...

...

... "Quit lookin' at me, you little fruitcake." A Vortian muttered, looking Nora over as Nora stared deep into his eyes. He was a young Vortian with a thick-fitting red shirt and white vest, and cocky-looking eyes. There was something "off" with him. He had a sickening, perverted glint to his eyes and May didn't like it.

"Let's just go find another vending machine." She told her sons and daughter.

"Assho." Nora spoke up.

"..._what did baby just say_?" The young Vortian remarked, as May blinked stupidly down at Nora.

"Yowh ah assho." She said in baby-language again.

"..." The young Vortian was now somewhat pissed off. "Lady, you don't shut that thing up, I'M shutting it-"

"Bo, man check." May asked her son.

"Man check." Bo agreed, jumping into the air, horns aimed at-

"YEEEOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW!!!" The other Vortian roared, staggering off as May laughed, caressing Nora's head as she, Bo and Ian went back to picking out sodas from the machine. Meanwhile, Darth, who was sitting in the nearby bathroom and thinking as he just plopped on the toilet, could feel something...a horrible, sickening vibe of thoughts emanating from nearby.

"_I'll get your kids after I have some private time with Shojah. Without his wife and kids keeping him away from me, he's all MINE. Mine, mine, mine!"  
_

Darth frowned darkly. So that was why Shojah was in Blood Sport. These thoughts...that mental voice...it's owner was keeping his wife and children from him. Blackmail, pure and simple, and motivated by lust. How foul, he thought.

The owner of these thoughts had sounded young. He concentrated, white eyes glowing slightly as he peeked into the head of the one who was now lustily dreaming about what he would do with Shojah the Vortian. Darth hid behind a large pillar in the mindscape, watching as Shojah was forced to feed grapes to a young Vortian, who finally had enough and demanded Shojah get on his knees. He walked around to the back, pulling his pants down-

Darth did NOT want to see any more into the young pervert's head. He quickly left, returning to the safety of his own mind. This disgusting little freak had kidnapped an innocent woman and her children so he could have his own way with a muscular Vortian. The little monster had to pay.

He left the stall, feeling his way around to the sink and then washing himself off with scrubbing rinse. He left the bathroom, mentally calling out for Frequency, who soon appeared from a nearby doorway, sipping a beer.

"_Wassap_?" He asked.

"I need you to tell me about a certain Vortian. He's young...blue eyes. Red shirt..." He thought back to the mental image he'd gotten of Manning. "He has a-"

"A scar over his left eye. Yeah...I know him." Frequency muttered. "He approached me to do a kidnapping job, but I don't target kids." He pulled out a butterfly knife from the red cap atop his head. "Let me guess...you want me to find him and bring him to you?"

Darth's grin was the work of demons. "If you please." He requested with a cheerful smile.

"Actually, I think I can get somebody to help me with that." Frequency said, whistling as somebody stepped into view. He was a very tall, dark-skinned Irken, and brown deadlocks hung down from his head as he grinned at the blind Irken with vibrant, fiery eyes.

"Well, jelly-eyes, I've seen YO face befo'." He muttered, looking interested as Darth frowned slightly.

"I've heard your voice before." Darth spoke up. "_Loc_." He remarked calmly.

"Pleasure." Loc commented calmly. "Now, what can I do ya for?" Loc inquired of Frequency.

"See dude, there's this little Vortian jackass blackmailin' one of the contestants by kidnappin' his wife and kids. Think you can help me bring him back here so we can ice him?"

"Just say "kill", you don't gotta romanticize it." Loc insisted, shaking his head. "You say he's blackmailing one of the contestants? Which one?"

"Shojah."

Loc took out a marijuana cigarette that made Darth's nostrils tingle at the scent. He lit it up and took a small breath of it, then blew it into the blind Irken's face, making him cough slightly. "I'll do it. Not because I owe you a favor for this good green." He told Frequency. "It's cuz I can't stand sleazy little shits that'll do blackmail. It's that Manning prick, ain't it? I've seen him fawnin' over Shojah's picture and bringin' it into the bathroom to choke the chicken."

"Huh?"

"Pool play, jelly-eyes."

"..._ah_." Darth frowned at this.

"Sick, I know. Now..." He pulled out a revolver and cocked it so he could slide a couple bullets into it. "Shall we?" He asked Frequency, who grinned sadistically.

"You're speakin' my language, brah."

Meanwhile, Spork had headed for the space station Miyuki was hiding at, but he quickly realized that he was too late. The guards bodies were old and rotting, and Miyuki herself was unable to be found. At long last, he finally shoved a door open...

"Tallest Spork!" Felix gasped, his SIR eyes widening. Spork saw the frozen structure near the SIR unit and headed over to the captured youngling. His laser cutter extended from his PAK and he easily sliced through the jelly-like blob around Felix as Felix hugged the Tallest tightly. "Oh I'm sorry, my Tallest, I couldn't help her..."

"Where's Miyuki?" Spork wanted to know, almost demanding the information.

Felix pointed at the icy structure to his right and Spork took a better look at it...his eyes widened as he did so. Beneath the thick layer of ice was... an all-too-familiar face. He felt horrified, the bile rising in his throat.

"_Miyuki_..." He whispered. This was disgusting. He hadn't agreed with the way Miyuki had run the empire because he felt she'd just been too damn nice, but this was just...

"Admiring my handiwork?" Jana spoke up, entering the room with Tallest Black by her side as he held up a wicked-looking ray gun, aiming it's muzzle at Felix and Spork.

"You'll never get away with this." Spork said angrily, extending his shield around he and Felix.

"My dear former Tallest..." Black spoke calmly in his faint Italian accent, aiming for the ground. "We already have."

He fired. The two of them fell down, down through the space station, their screams echoing through the "ears" of Black and Jana before they finally struck the basement below...and silence reigned before Black began to laugh and laugh.

...

...

...

...Dr. Keek hid himself behind a pillar as he heard Renee's voice call out. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" She called out to the doctor. "I don't want this to be painful. And it doesn't have to be. The sooner you come out, the sooner I can get this over with and give you a quick end."

_"I can't let you kill me"_, Dr. Keek thought to himself. _"My patients need the money. The little one back at my lab...she'll die if I don't find the right funds..."_

"Talk _soft_." Zor whispered, suddenly lifting the doctor up, holding his sharp claws to the doctor's throat. He'd appeared from the shadows suddenly, blending in so easily...Dr. Keek gulped in fear as Zor looked down at him, very sharp, very visible fangs appearing in the "demon" region of his mouth. "I'd rather not have to kill you at all, but unfortunately I have a duty to somebody very dear to me to ensure I win. Since that woman is less "innocent" than you as a doctor are, she will be my target. What I want you to do...is to make a deal with her."

"_What_?" Dr. Keek whispered back, looking horrified.

"I want you to get her to think that you'd like to join forces so you two can defeat me." Zor explained calmly.

"I can't do that." The doctor insisted, shaking his head. "That's dishonest."

"...that is unfortunate." Zor spoke softly, solemnly, his claws digging slightly into Dr. Keek's tiny neck. "I'm sorry, then."

Dr. Keek's hands gripped around his scalpel. "I'm sorry too." He admitted quietly, suddenly jamming it into Zor's stomach.

Zor screeched in pain, dropping the doctor as the little Irken raced away in time to avoid Renee's powerhouse kick that knocked clear through the large pillar Zor had been hiding behind and sending him flying through the air. He jumped back up, standing in a fighting pose as he and Renee looked at each other.

"What ARE you?" She whispered, frowning deeply.

"I'm COMPLICATED." Zor said firmly.

_Oh, yes. Her soul will be of quite a lot of use. _

"_What of that "Trik" fellow?"_

_You needn't worry about him. He's almost finished with getting the necessary tools. Finish her._

Zor rushed forward, fist sweeping out at Renee, who blocked with her arm. She delivered a sweeping kick at Zor, who flew up into the air, carrying HER with him. He tossed her at a wall and she cracked into it, sliding down onto the floor below and rubbing her head.

Zor thrust his black hand forward as strange, pulsing black balls spontaneously burst out from his dark wing, almost melting off of him to fire at her. "I need to win this, Vortian!" He told her. "I would not expect you to understand!"

"I need to win this too." Renee told him as she jumped through the air, spinning to avoid the dark balls. "I wouldn't expect YOU to get it either!"

Meanwhile, Dr. Keek was running as fast as he could down the hallways, heading for the control room that housed the lights within the building. Luckily there were signs upon the walls indicating where he needed to go, and he grinned broadly, racing down the steps and into a door at the bottom. There he was greeted by an old, outdated computer...but, luckily, it was still plugged in. And with a little tinkering...

He got out a couple of examination tools and got to work on the console, some wires sparking and sizzling as he worked his way through them. "Like riding a blood bicycle!" He exclaimed.

Elsewhere, Loc and Frequency were walking down a hallway. Loc had several blaster pistols strapped to his belt, and one in either hand, whilst Frequency had a rifle slung around his back, with a large set of brass knuckles on his fists. He clenched them tightly as he wiped his mouth free of some saliva...he was eager to tear this nasty little "young adult" a new one. Normally he wouldn't have ever hurt a kid, but this "kid" had stopped being an innocent, wide-eyed child the moment he'd arranged for the kidnapping of an innocent women and her children so he could indulge his sick sexual habits.

"I saw him head towards the far end of the Space Station. Now we gotta STUN him, but hey, if he gets a bit injured...a few limbs blown off, I don't think that's such a big deal." Loc said calmly. He had murder in his eyes as well.

"Fine by me." Frequency agreed. "Let's split up and meet back at the cafeteria where Darth's going to be waiting for us."

The two nodded at each other, then took off down the hallways, racing as fast as they could.

...

...

...

... "Hello there! Welcome to Schloogorgh's, what can I get you?" Sizz-Lorr asked calmly, looking at Trik, a large band-aid over his head, burn marks on his body.

"Yes, I'd like some nachos and a large soda please." Trik asked calmly, an ornate-looking knife with strange symbols embedded in the steel. Sizz-Lorr didn't ask about this, he just went into the back, quickly getting his current and only customer a meal. He would have had more if not for the fact that everyone was kind of freaked out at the way bloody pus was oozing out of the band-aid every time Sizz-Lorr spoke. Trik, however, was so used to greasy, disgusting food he didn't care.

He sat down in a nearby booth, avoiding the one that had tentacles reaching out from under it and dipped a nacho chip into the cheese, biting into it as a voice entered his head.

_How goes it? _Redeye, Trik's new "benefactor/patron" whispered.

"_I've got the knife." _Trik thought back. _"Who'll be the sacrifice?" _

_It has to be a young soul. I've a thing for kids. Try and go for that girl, Erin. I have never had an Arosean soul in my possession before. _Redeye's tone then became longing, almost lustful. _Oh, she has such PASSION. She'll be WONDERFUL. So many delightful things to inflict on such a pure, innocent soul..._

"_Well then, fine by me." _Trik muttered. Anything for them. ANYTHING.

Meanwhile, Renee and Zor were slamming their fists and feet into each other as they performed a dance of death within one of the large rooms of the building as Dr. Keek continued to work on the power console. Renee spun her leg around and Zor jumped into the air, dodging it and lingering above her head, getting a kick on her head.

She was sent back slightly, but then backflipped, landing on the wall and bouncing off, slashing Zor across the face with her pointed nails, making him gasp in pain. He held his face for a moment as she took up another fighting position and he thrust his hand forward as the black balls suddenly slammed into her chest, knocking her through the air, blood oozing down her body.

"It's over, Vortian." He told her, eyes narrowing as he walked towards her, the thin, wispy material at the bottom of his left leg wrapping around her and bringing her closer to him as he held his claws up. "You fought well, but it's over now. I'm grateful you didn't mock my appearance like some of my other opponents might have, and since I respect your strength and courage, I'll be quick about this." He told her, claws wrapping around her neck as the wispy strands tightened around her.

**BEEEEOOOO.** The lights went out, and Zor blinked. "What in blazes?"

Renee took the opportunity to lunge forward, her foot kicking off of him. She broke free of the bonds and raced away, using her well-developed sense of smell to rush towards the outside world, heading out the front door as Zor growled and clenched his fists, heading after her, following her trail as the doctor made his way out of a door from the basement.

Meanwhile, Manning was washing off his hands in the bathroom, humming a tune to himself. The door opened, and Loc walked in, holding a pistol up, aiming it at Manning's head. The Vortian blinked, noticing Loc in the doorway and ducked just in time to avoid a stun shot. He growled angrily, turning on Loc, holding up a switchblade knife. "The hell?!?" He snapped.

"I've got a hit. On your head. Now you can make this easy...or difficult."

"I don't plan on making things easy for you, sexy." Manning sneered.

"I KNEW you'd say that." Loc whispered, eyes glinting, as she sheathed his guns and rushed forward, claws slashing as Manning leapt over him, rushing out of the bathroom. Loc spun on his feet, racing after him, his coat billowing slightly as he chased down the little punk.

"Come and get me, tiger!" Manning cackled, racing through the hallways. "I'm a lot faster than you are, old man!" He sneered, looking back at Loc's infuriated face.

It was true. But one thing that he hadn't counted on was the fact that a certain albino saw them coming, stepped into a nearby crook between vending machines, one foot stretched out.

TWHOMP. Manning went flying a few feet forward, then slammed into the ground, the switchblade flying out of his hands. He scrambled to get to his feet, but Loc pinned him to the ground as Frequency approached from the other end of the hallway, hearing the hubbub. "Well, looks like you got him." He told Loc as Loc strapped a pair of handcuffs on the Vortian's hands.

"Get movin', sunshine. We've got questions and you'd better answer. And the parts we don't like about the story you tell..." Loc began.

Frequency held his butterfly knife to the Vortian's neck. "We're gonna edit out. In **BLOOD**, Got it, shoobie?" Frequency whispered darkly.

"Eep." Manning gulped.

...

...

...

...Renee hid herself in an alley as she heard Zor approach, a pipe held in her hands, her eyes narrowed darkly. She waited...waited...

Swung.

BRANG! He caught it in his hands and she gulped, looking into his green eyes.

"That...wasn't...smart." He muttered, eyes turning to dark slits. He slammed her into the nearby alley wall and punched her across the face over and over. "I WILL win! You won't stop me, Vortian! I'll-"

Pain. Harsh, biting pain. He gasped as a sudden fire spread through his leg and he collapsed to the ground, seeing Dr. Keek lowering a needle that had just had its contents emptied into him. Dr. Keek quickly lifted Renee's bloodied, bruised form up, taking out several disinfectant wipes, wiping the blood off her body and gently cradling her as he began to tend to her wounds.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Zor demanded to know.

"I'm healing her." Dr. Keek said simply, one hand holding up a small potion, which he held to Renee's lips.

"Why? She would willingly kill you in this competition." Zor asked, a confused expression appearing on his features as Renee coughed slightly in the doctor's gentle grip.

"I'm a doctor, first and foremost. I SAVE lives, not take them!" Dr. Keek told Zor as he placed some bandages onto Renee's facial wounds. "I'll get to healing up that facial wound she gave you in a second."

Zor was silent. He felt a terrible sadness welling in him as he watched the doctor finish placing the bandages on. He couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to-

But he kept thinking of his dear, sweet Calico. Dying slowly in his cell, soon to never again move...

"...I'm so sorry." He murmured as two black balls found their way through the air. One struck the doctor in the neck, snapping it cleanly, whilst the other hit Renee's head in her wound, striking her brain. Both were dead in an instant, a dead patient now held in the arms of a dead doctor. Zor slowly stood up as his senses returned to normal and he kneeled by their forms, placing them in a position of repose, closing their eyes. He felt terrible, sickening. A teardrop burned it's way down his demonic cheek. Why had he had to fight these two? Especially this doctor, who had not even been finished with his gentle work?

"It's for Calico." He thought to himself as a camera drone, satisfied with this ending, hovered away as Nexus's gem glittered brightly, an amused expression on the head of Blood Sport's features at this sudden, surprising twist. "I have to do this for him...I can't let him down. I...I just can't..."

...

...

....

...Manning's eyes widened in horror as Loc and Frequency stood on either side, watching as Darth's eyes glowed brightly. Loc looked intrigued as Manning floated in the air, held aloft by the blind Irken.

"I must say, your mental defenses really aren't much to brag about." Darth told the Vortian. Irkens were easy to manipulate, almost pathetically so. He didn't even need to get within eyesight distance of them...and this Vortian's mind was almost as easy. He'd been so preoccupied lately with one particular black-skinned Vortian that getting inside his head and finding out where Exis and her children were had been a breeze.

"Y-you can't d-do this to me!" Manning whispered as he was floated closer to Darth, arms and legs held still, Darth's claws gripping into his head. "I'm just a kid, I'm innocent!"

"You WERE innocent." Darth spoke softly. "...you WERE. But even so this might still be a happy ending for you..." He went on, claws digging in.

Darkness.

Silence.

And then, a large pair of hands lifting him up.

"Manning?" Shojah whispered, holding Manning up to look into his eyes. "You're alright! I was so worried...I thought that filthy blind Irken had hurt you."

"Oh, it's you...my love...my darling Shojah..." Manning whispered, holding Shojah's cheek and caressing it. "Nothing will ever come between us ever again...nothing..."

Lips meeting...

Loc frowned as Darth let the comatose body of Manning fall to the ground, taking out a small cigarette and lighting it up. "Whatever that little s—t's dreamin' up now is too good for him."

"Maybe." Darth admitted, shrugging as Frequency lifted Manning's form up and placed him in a chair, covering him with a blanket and placing a half-drunken bottle of heavy whiskey nearby, making sure only HIS fingerprints were over it, glad that he had none of his own. "But his dream will turn sour soon enough...and he'll have plenty of time to beg for mercy in his own dream-turned nightmare. Perhaps he might still find a happy ending." The blind Irken whispered.

...

...

...

... "Alright. You've got the style, you've got the substance. Zim can boogie. Zim can get jiggy with it." Zim told himself as he looked himself over in the mirror, Skoodge standing by his side. "And now..." He grinned proudly. "Zim will DAZZLE Ember with his moves!" He turned to Skoodge. "Take me to the cafeteria, Skoodge!" He demanded of his fat friend. "Ember is no doubt eagerly awaiting, eager to return the love of ZIM!"

"Yes, uh...funny thing about **that**..." A voice spoke up.

They turned their heads to see Tallest Black standing there, looking eager to get to work on them. "You're not going to see her." He explained coldly. "We need her out of the way. I don't have to kill you, Zim, or you, Skoodge...but, well...I don't mind having a bit of...entertainment...before I go join Jana in eliminating the Tallest. You're staying here...and letting me "play" with you."

He cracked his knuckles. Zim and Skoodge looked at each other, knowing that they would be powerless against this person. He was a Tallest. They had to, according to their PAK's programming, obey his command.

They were in deep shit.


	11. Two Sided Tragedy

_Nyrtrak belongs to __**randominuyasha **__and all other characters are property of their respective owners. Remember that now. _

_

* * *

__**BLOOD SPORT ROUND 10**_

_**Shojah vs Nixus vs Nick vs Mir**_

_**

* * *

**In the old cowboy movies, the hero is the one who says the least. In Japanese media, he's usually wearing red. In war films, he's usually...well, a rookie American. Or a rookie Frenchman. Or a rookie German, noble ideals soon to be dissolved by war only to be dramatically redeemed, usually by death or a death-defying act of heroism. But I don't fit any of that, because I've not lost sight of my ideals. I don't wear red. I speak too damn much. But I don't feel heroic either...because one of my opponent's is doing this for his family...how am I supposed to kill a father when I've got three of my own that I would die for? _

* * *

"_Padre nuestro! Perdona nuestras ofensas_..." Shojah whispered as he looked at the scene before him. It was horrific...sickening. His wife's neck was broken, her eyes forever opened in glazed terror. Valencia's back was ripped open, her spine visibly cracking out of the skin, Regis was twitching, his arms ripped from his body as he lay near a weeping Reyes, who was desperately trying to put intestines back into their proper place. "I...I f—ked up..." He murmured.

"Au contraire, Senor Poopyants." Manning's voice whispered as he calmly walked towards Shojah, rubbing his hands together. "You've made your lover MOST happy today. I couldn't be prouder of you!"

"No, I...I'd never do this, I'm...I'm not your toy!" Shojah insisted, clenching his fists and turning on Manning, eyes brimming with angry tears.

"All of us are marionettes. Depsite how far away from the shop you might run away..."

Manning's claws grabbed around his neck and he sneered in his face. "Know that there's always SOMEONE pulling the strings." He whispered.

"AAAAAAAAA!!!" Shojah screamed, suddenly sitting upright as a tumbleweed smacked into his face, ambling by. He blinked, looking around the badlands he'd been dropped off in, scratching his head. "Ugh...what a dream..."

"You need to tone it down." Nick muttered as he stood up nearby, a blanket wrapped around his lower body.

"Sorry, I was just having another..." Shojah suddenly looked at his opponent for the next round. REALLY looked at him. "Bad...AAAAHHH! Gratuitous male nudity! My EYES!" He looked away, hdoling his hands over his eye.

"Oh. Right." Nick blushed a little, reaching over and putting his pants back on, which were hanging from a rocky outcropping above. The two of them were sleeping behind a large rock that had given them shelter for the night. Today, at noon, they'd all meet with their other opponents in the middle of the badlands for a full brawl. Until that time, they'd agreed to be "decent" towards each other.

"You sleep in the RAW!?! What is WRONG with you!? At least the computer wore tennis shoes!" Shojah snapped.

"This is the Badlands. It's 100 degrees out. In the SHADE. Besides, what's the big deal? I've got the same parts you do." Nick commented as he got dressed.

"You Irkens are cyborgs, like...like electric chairs with legs! Except instead of four legs, you have three."

"My friends risked their lives to beat Manning and save your wife and kids, who Frequency's picking up now. Why do you hate me so much?" Nick wanted to know.

"It's not hate." Shojah muttered. "It's...more like...jealousy. Look, you found a way to live in both worlds, a way to...a way to stay "civil". For me, it's...it's much, much harder. That killer's instinct, I can't bury it as deeply as you seem able to. I wish I had your gentleness sometimes."

"And I wish I had your power sometimes. I mean, you look like you can bend STEEL in your hands, that's...that's the sort of thing that, if I did that in front of some big hotshot guard, he'd NEVER spit at my Vortian wife." Nick admitted. "I wish I had the confidence you have. I'm always so nervous I'm not going to be able to do enough to stand for what I care about."

"Well...you have four hours." Shojah told him. "...I think we should leave each other and be alone."

"Fine." Nick admitted, getting up and slinging his rifle back over his shoulder. He then hesitated before turning around, eyes looking apologetic. "Shojah?" He asked quietly.

"Si?" Shojah wanted to know.

"...Lo siento, mi hermano." Nick muttered, turning his head away and walking off as Shojah sighed slightly, then stood up and headed off to go find something to drink.

...

...

...

..."What are we going to do?" Skoodge whispered to Zim as he stood near his sharply-dressed friend. Tallest Black had locked the door and they essentially had nothing to do but wait until Jana had finished Tallests Red and Purple...and before that happened, Black planned on "dealing" the two. Having some "fun".

"Hmm. What AM I going to break first?" Black wondered. "You see, I'm not to actually kill either of you since Jana apparently wants you alive and I do have to honor my word, but I think...yes, a few limbs broken just a bit." Black's PAK legs extended outward. "That'll do nicely."

"_We can't fight back against him...he's a Tallest."_ Zim thought to himself. _"...but he's trying to destroy the other Tallests...and those Tallest say they're acting for the good of the empire...and he's trying to change all of the Empire along with that other one. They're...they're SICK, they're..."_

The words came out, a jumbling whisper. "You're insane." He told Black, who's eyes flashed like dark steel.

"...what." He muttered, looking furiously at Zim.

"You're insane, that's why you're...you're defect-" He began.

Black's PAKl leg swept out and caught him on the side of the head, and Black snarled furiously. "You little _kisgaree_! How dare you insult your Tallest so!"

"You're not a Tallest!" Skoodge piped in, a glint entering his eye as his PAK leg shot out, knocking Tallest Black away as he and Zim took up fighting stances. "You're a filthy _melkremar_! An absolute traitor to everything Irken!" He insisted. "We won't let you destroy the Tallest!"

"I don't really think you have the choice." Black sneered as his PAK legs slowly rose up. They clanged together for a moment as he let out a harsh laugh, and he then rushed forward.

...

...

...

... "Oh, MAN, I'm staaaarving." Mir muttered as she and Nixus trudged along a long dirt road through the badlands towards their intended destination. They took had agreed not to hurt each other until the noon sun rose up...but right now hunger was on their minds, not fighting. "I could eat a pig! And that's not kosher, you know. It would make me a heathen but I wouldn't freakin' CARE I'm so HUNGRY!"

"Can't you pray to God to ask for manna from heaven or something like that?" Nixus wanted to know, having taken her shirt off and now wearing only a brassiere and her shorts. The sweat she was letting off was making the bra stick to her form very, very-OKAY, you perverts, that's as good a description as you're gonna get.

"...well..." Mir rubbed her chin. She had not chosen to take off any of her clothes, not wanting to look like a "lady of the night". "...I'm not sure. Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord!"

"We're women. Not men." Nixus commented.

"...fair enough." Mir agreed. She placed her hands together and began to pray. "Lord...we are starving. Feed us. PLEASE."

"Wooooohooooo!"

A voice far off in the distance. They turned their heads to see a form sitting by a large tree, holding up what looked like large, brown nuts in his gloved hands. Nick was beaming ecstatically as he danced a merry jig. "Yes-yes-yes-yes-yes!" He cheered. "Girls, over here! COCONUTS!"

"Coconuts." Mir remarked as she and Nixus walked over to the tree. It had a slightly yellowish/brown hue to it, with dark yellow/green leaves. But the "coconuts" as Nick called them were large, bluish things.

"Can you believe it? Coconuts!" Nick told them as he handed them each a coconuts.

"Coconuts." Mir repeated.

"Coconuts. Real coconuts." Nick whispered.

"Coconuts." Mir decided.

"COCONUTS." Nixus said happily.

"They have coconuts on Foodcourtia. A buck apiece. They coulda bought themselves a truckload, but NOOOOO, they had to go halfway across the galaxy to..." Nexus rolled his eyes as he ordered the camera drone to whiz far overhead, using the "Zoom" feature to continue spying on them.

"I've tried coconut before. It's quite a nice taste." Nixus admitted as Nick used a PAK leg to crack one open and he began hungrily slurping up the chocolatey-tasting milk within. He found it unusual that the "meat" of the coconut was brown, but hey, if the shells were blue...

Plus, it tasted very, very rich. Like a fine chocolate milkshake. He hungrily slurped down the insides, his long tongue sliding over the insides of the coconut and ripping off chunks of the meat to toss into his throat. All three of them sat beneath the tree as they hungrily guzzled down the insides of the coconuts.

"OHHH that was good." Mir admitted. "That WAS manna from Heaven! All of us, let's praise the Lord!" She cheered.

"I'll drink to that." Nick admitted, holding up another coconut for each of them as they cracked this new one open.

"Amen!" Nixus agreed. They all clinked the coconuts together and began slurping down the insides once again. "Oh, these are wonderful! I could drink from them all day!"

"Yeah, I really do enjoy sucking on these coconuts." Mir admitted.

Nick began to giggle madly. Nixus promptly held up her can of mace. "You wanna go into the next battle without your eyes?!" She asked sassily.

"Sorry, sorry." Nick apologized as they tossed that second coconut batch away and they decided to have one more. But as Nick was going through his, he noticed a sign on the back of the tree that he hadn't seen. He looked it over as Mir and Nixus continued to hungrily down their next coconut. "This is odd. There's...it looks like a warning sign." He told them.

Nixus looked over at him. "Warning?" She asked, looking concerned.

"No "fatal" or "death" mentioned. It's all in Vortian, so I can read it...well...for the most part. It's the sequence of words that's troublesome." Nick admitted nervously. "Uh...lemme see..." His eyes peered over the sign intently as he rubbed his chin. "...um...uh...walk through the zombie fields...er...no, no, the fields of the dead...within the...within the mind?"

Mir stopped eating HER coconut and looked at him, blinking a few times. "Hu-what?"

"Uh...and...the...pink...pink...elephants will...no, that can't be right." Nick murmured, frowning deeply as he scratched his head, continuing to examine the signs. "...the rising of the...um..."

His eyes then widened. "...I THINK it might be a **narcotic**." He realized, gulping deeply.

"...but...we just ate...three of them." Nixus squeaked out.

"...goddammit." Mir mumbled as a horde of pink elephants began to walk by her, tooting their horns.

...

...

...

...meanwhile, Zim and Skoodge were facing down Tallest Black, their bodies tense and ready for a rumble as they slowly circled each other, fists clenched tightly, the Tallest calmly smiling at them, body poised like a snake ready to strike, with a smile just as fitting his nature.

"I don't know why you truly care about them. They make you do terrible, degrading things. And they made me go into a Black Hole, which makes me immensely **annoyed**." The black-armored being commented calmly.

"They're a lot better for the Empire than you." Skoodge remarked.

"Oh please. Think about it. Who is crueler?" asked Tallest Black. "Someone like me who simply tries to kill you? Or people like Red and Purple? They lured you in with lies and false promises of glory, they control you for selfish reasons, and then they reduce you to utter despair after shooting you out of a cannon." Black asked, one hand held behind his back, the other held high.

"..." Skoodge was quiet for a while. He almost wanted to agree with this Tallest. But then Zim spoke.

"Ohhh NO you don't." Zim hissed. "There are different degrees of "FILTH" in this galaxy, but to say "I'm less evil than them, so I'm better" is nonsense. I admit, looking back now on what Red and Purple have asked of me and of the Empire, much of what they did was wrong, but what you intend is just as evil and you are just as worthy of punishment as they are. The only difference between you two is that they don't LIKE being so cruel...but you..."

Zim shook his head, eyes turned to maroon/ruby slits. "You...you have no regrets for your cruelty."

"Well, we obviously have nothing left to say to each other, Zerinim...Skoodge." Black commented, raising a nonexistent eyebrow as he held his claws in a fighting stance. "...have at you."

"With pleasure, Blazcek." Zim muttered, addressing the Tallest by HIS full name, making Black frown slightly.

**BGM: Fight with Seymour, as performed by The Black Mages**

Black held up a small silver/green orb and tossed it through the air at them. They barely jumped away in time as it exploded in a flash of electrical power and Black leapt at them, a pulsing orange/yellow shield erected around his form, erected from his PAK.

Zim spun backwards through the air as he grabbed ahold of a nearby chair, slamming it at the shield. Electrical energy sizzled through him and he was launched backwards as Black calmly smiled, but he jumped away in time to avoid a laser blast from Skoodge, who lowered his PAK-Blaster. "You s-stay away from-from him or I'm gonna turn you into...into a big, black STAIN on the WALL!" Skoodge stuttered furiously.

"Ohhh, isn't that touching." Black laughed. "Protecting your little friend. Ain't that cute? But it's WRONG." Black's PAK legs swung out and slammed into Skoodge over and over again, knocking him back and forth. He began to laugh sadistically, throwing his head back.

SCRH-WHAAAAM!

Another erected shield knocked him away and he slammed into a wall, his shield flickering for a moment as he stared up with a furious glint at Zim, who had a blue shield around his form. "STOP HURTING MY FRIEND!" Zim snarled furiously, pointing with a claw. "Stand still and Zim will only PARTLY dismember you!"

The two shielded Irkens jumped at each other, slamming hard into each other over and over, sending our crackling bolts of lightning that rippled through the air.

"You annoying little GNAT!" Black roared out in fury as he began pushing Zim backwards, further and further, straight into a wall. Desperately, Zim tried to push him back, but he wasn't nearly as strong as Tallest Black. "You've got no chance, _Zerinim_! Take your medicine and get knocked out! Your Tallest-"

SLAM!

Skoodge, his own shield erected now, slammed into Tallest Black from the side as he and Zim stood together. "I've had about enough of your mouth! Zim?" He asked Zim.

"Ready."

The two held their hands out as their shields pulsed, and beams of energy swirled around them, launching at Tallest Black's shield as his body sizzled and pulsed. Finally, with a mighty roar, he was launched through the room with a scream, and the two Invaders let out a long, deep sigh of relief. It was over.

(Music ends.)

"Alright, let's get after him and finish him off." Zim said.

Then Skoodge sniffed the air. "...wait...do you...smell that?" He asked.

...

...

...

... "What...the?" Shojah remarked as he looked at the scene before him.

"Purple haaaaze! Disrupt mah braaaaainmeats!" Mir sang out, waving a coconut in the air.

"Hey...hey, you...you think I'm a cop, right?" Nick sniggered, giggling a little bit as he twirled a finger in the air.

"Dude...you know..." Nixus giggled as her head kept bonking into Nick's. "I read...I read somewhere that the cops don't...they don't gotta actually tell you if you're undercover." She laughed.

"Great. Tweedledee y Tweeldedum y tweedleDUMBER." Shojah muttered. "You ate imported Cirrin Coconuts! Don't you know what those do to your head?"

"_**Heaaaaaad shoulders knees and toes, knees and toes!**_" Nick sang out, holding his arms up, then touching his head, his shoulders, etc. "_**Heaaaaaad, shoulders knees and toes, knees and toes!**_" He then grinned stupidly. "_**And I can't forget my ears and nose! IIII ain't got none of those, none of those!**_" Nick added, waving his arms in the air.

"_Hesus Christo_." Shojah mumbled. "...ugh." He walked off. "I'll be back in a second to cure the fact that your heads have been filled with confetti."

"You know, you probably would feel much better with one of THESE, dude." Nick laughed, holding up a Cirrin.

"_**I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts!**_" Mir sang out as she rolled atop one of the coconuts, rolling around and around in a circle as Nixus waved a finger in the air, harmonizing on the beat. "_**Here they are, a-standin' in a row! Big ones, tall ones, some as big as your head!**_"

...

...

...

...meanwhile, some of you might be wondering what that "smell" had been that Skoodge had picked up. Well as it were, that smell was something caused a few minutes earlier, on a different part of the station.

"You know, I don't mind being here on this station." An Irken admitted. His entire form was covered in a body suit of pink with black stripes over his antennae and black straps to hold his weapons to his body. He had black gauntlets and a black "facial" section over his eyes, with a small symbol on his forehead of a circle that had three points firing off of it at the top, left and right. "But I wish they'd get rid of that statue." He said, looking up at a nearby statue of two fighters in a dramatic battle from the first Blood Sport."

"Get rid of Domm and Raf? You're talkin' crazy, Nyrhtak." Ember insisted as she walked alongside the ninja, with Erin and Frequency walking nearby.

"Yeah, those two kicked major ass." Frequency insisted. "I've musta watched tapes of Domm's chainsaw techniques thirteen times as a kid...yeah, I didn't...have too many friends outside of my 45s and the like." He admitted to Erin. "Not a lotta guys are gonna wanna hang out with a grade schooler with a gun collection."

"Can't imagine why." Erin remarked, shaking her head.

"What is CRAZY is that know-nothing tourists flock here simply because this was where two now-dead ruffians had a brawl in a sport glamorizing cruelty. A fair fight is one thing. Blood Sport rarely IS fair. I don't mind fighting with seasoned warriors, but smeets like that Myo and Gig have no place-"

"Ooooooh." Ember whispered, looking into a nearby room. They turned their heads to see an enormous black scope that was staring out through a bubble-dome that kept the entire place oxygenated and protected. One could see out as clearly as if one was watching the stars from a field. "Look at this!" She said, going over to the Telescope. "There's not much light pollution around here." Ember admitted. "We should be able to get an excellent view of the Andromeda Galaxy!"

"You know about stargazing?" Nyrhtak inquired, his pink-eyed form looked interested.

"Well, it was a hobby of mine. Along with music." Ember added as she fiddled with the knobs on the telescope, looking through it. "Ooooooh. Lookit all of those stars. They're beautiful."

"It does get lovely out here, doesn't it" Nyrhtak admitted.

"It's nice to be able to just get away from it all and..."

"I agree." A voice spoke up.

They turned around to see a familiar face standing there. Two, actually. One of them being Jana, who was grinning darkly. The other was a solemn-faced Trik, who had a knife in a sheathe around his belt. He held up a remote, frowning a bit. "Thing was, we were planning on this being a private get-together with friends. Just us...and Erin." Trik commented.

"Don't make me hurt you." Frequency said, holding up two pistols and aiming them as Nyrhtak got into a fighting pose.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Trik commented, pointing at the remote and fiddling with it as Frequency smirked.

"Lemme guess...trying to take a page from Nexus to hack into Nyrhtak's PAK?"

"That trick won't work on me!" Nyrhtak commented, his gauntlet's raised, glowing as they prepared to fire a blast of energy.

"He's not trying to hack into YOU, "Ask A Ninja"." Jana sneered.

THWAAAAAM! A large pillar shot out from the walls and slammed into Nyrhtak and Frequency. Erin jumped back, taking up a fighting pose as Frequency and Nyrhtak groaned in pain.

"Ember, go, it's me they want!" Erin yelled out.

"We aren't leaving...you...alone..." Frequency muttered as Jana tossed a small, circular object at them. It opened up into a net and she ensnared them all, yanking backward and throwing them out of the room. She calmly smirked and walked after them, her plasma sword held up as Trik leapt at Erin. Ember quickly hid herself behind the telescope, barely dodging a burst from a plasma blaster in Trik's hand.

"You're only making this harder on yourself." Trik told Erin as he held his blaster up, aiming it at her.

"Please! PLEASE don't HURT me!" Erin whimpered.

"Skip the waterworks." Trik snapped. "Your "innocent little girl" routine is just an act you put on to get attention from your older friends. Why don't you behave like the bright young woman we BOTH know you are?"

"F-fine. You know, you're just like your old buddy Regulus." Erin muttered, half pouting, half frowning. "You're both total freakin' **failures**!"

"That's more like it." Trik commented.

THWAM!

Ember launched herself through the air, knocking into Trik and knocking the plasma blaster through the air. It slammed into a computer console and exploded, and as Trik flung her away, a flurry of flames began to spread through the room.

Quickly, Zim and Skoodge ran towards the smell of the fire, but as they rounded a corner, pushing through a flurry of people scurrying to get AWAY from the on-fire room, they found Jana, energy sword held high, trying to "deal" with Frequency and Nyrhtak. Skoodge quickly knocked her down and held up a hand. "GO! I've got her!" He told his friend as he freed Frequency and Nyrhtak, then covered himself in his protective shield.

Zim jumped through the flames in the doorway, yelling out. "Ember! EMBER?! Where are you? Darn this stupid astrology room!"

"It's "astronomy", Zerinim." Trik's voice rang out. "Honestly..." He held up his knife as he circled around Zim, the flames licking up into the air, turning the place into an oven. "Hard to believe you've lasted this long with your lack of intelligence. The Empire gave you everything you needed to succeed, and you can barely get by without your immense amount of dumb luck." Trik whispered.

"Yes, well, I've read your diary." Zim said cheerfully as he bared his teeth and held up a switchblade of his own. "Boo HOO, my commander molested me!"

Trik scowled furiously at him as they held their knives up. "What did you do with the girl?"

"The annoying little Arosean red-head or that heterochromic monkey you made time with?" Trik inquired.

"The term is HUUUUUMAN, Terrifik!" Zim snarled. "Hurting either shall not bring your wife and children back."

"Not quite, Zerinim." Trik commented. "I sacrifice one innocent soul, and my new patron gives me the ultimate raise. As in "raise my family from the dead"!" He told Zim, leaping at him and slashing with his knife. Zim parried it with his switchblade and Trik forced him back a few feet before spinning around and kicking the knife out of Zim's hands. "See, my patron has a thing for young and innocent souls...though...he's not too PICKY about gender..." He added, holding his sword to Zim's throat.

...

...

...

...it took a long time. Many hours. The sun had begun to actually set in the distance as the four warriors stood apart from each other.

**BGM: Devastation's Doorway**

Nobody said a word as a solemn wind blew across the badlands. Nixus lit a cigarette in her mouth, letting out a long, deep breath.

Nick's foot stomped on the ground, sending some dust flying up as he took up a battle stance.

Mir held up her fist and clenched it before them all.

Shojah's body tensed...and then he jumped forward, fist slamming into where Nixus had been. She spiraled away as Mir rushed forward, tossing a water balloon through the air. It struck Nixus's back and she howled in pain at the sizzling water that drenched her as Shojah leapt upwards.

BUDDA-BLAM! A shot knocked him back somewhat and he turned to see Nick holding up his blue-colored rifle. He held it aloft and spun it around, and as he did so, it elongated and bulged, transforming into an enormous high-power shot launcher with a sleek titanium slide. He aimed it and launched a cannon blast from its long barrel, and it shot through the air, slamming into Shojah and knocking him back through the air, his vest torn to shreds in a single blast.

Nixus, meanwhile, cartwheeled away from Mir as the small Irken whipped out a shiny flamethrower from her PAK. She fired it off and burning heat raced through the air to try and scorch Nixus as she yelled out "DIE, HEATHEN" in a screech. Nixus felt hot flame singe the side of her face as Nick rushed to help her, only to be knocked through the air as Shojah slammed his knee into the communications officer.

Nick hit the ground, gasping in pain as Mir aimed her flamethrower at Shojah, who didn't turn in time.

THWOOOOOM! The fire shot through the air and singed his back. He screamed and hit the ground as Mir continued to scorch him, Nick slowly rising up from where he'd landed, reaching into his belt.

Nexus's kick suddenly knocked Mir backwards, and the flamethrower flew through the air, with Mir landing on her feet, holding up a small water balloon. She tossed it and it landed on Nexus's chest, making the shirt stick to her-

Shojah's eyes widened as he blinked a few times. THOSE were a nice pair of-

Suddenly a CA-CLICK was heard and they turned their heads to see Nick holding up two large pistols with circular-shaped barrels. He grinned, and then unloaded onto the battlefield, firing and firing off small, circular explosives that made the ground around them crack and hiss as the entire place shook wildly.

Shojah raced for his life along the cracks as Mir clung to the ground as best she could, arms flailing around wildly, with Nexus leaping backwards through the air, landing on a rock nearby. Unfortunately, the rock began to sink into the ground as Nick's PAK legs extended and he raced away from the cracking-up battlefield.

Mir let out a growl and leapt at Nexus, and the two fell off the rock, down, down into a crevasse below as Nick gasped. He turned around and ran at where they'd fallen, eyes widening in horror...

No sound. Nothing. He sighed sadly and stood up, the sole survivor, as a wind blew his antennae to the side.

(Music ends.)

It was then that he heard a coughing from somebody. Mad and harsh. He turned his head to see that Nexus had managed to grab ahold of a far-down ledge in the crevasse and was making her way back up, turning from a speck to a very visible shape. Nick quickly extended one PAK leg. "Hold onto it!" He yelled out to her.

Soon enough, she reached up, grabbing ahold of the PAK leg as Nick pulled her up, smiling. "Well, glad somebody else made it out-" Nick began, but then he saw Nexus's look of blind fear. He quickly jumped to the right, dodging Shojah, who missed him and fell down, down into the crevasse. He managed to twist his body and hold onto the wall with his clawed hands as Nick placed Nexus down on the ground, then extended his PAK leg out to Shojah. "Come on! Let's get going!" He told Shojah.

But Shojah just gave him a sad smile. "No." He said.

Nick realized what Shojah intended to do and shook his head. "No...NO!" He screamed. "You can't die like this! Dammit, you have a wife and kids to go back to! Grab the freakin' PAK thingie! You...you GOAT!"

But not even this worked. Shojah just shook his head slowly. "I've done things that...I'm ashamed of." He murmured. "...I...I've dishonored my wife and children with the savagery I showed...I was willing to rip you into two when you were trying to save an innocent...the man that my wife married died the moment he allowed his fury to take control."

"Shojah, please..." Nick begged. "It's not too late..."

"You're going to be very strong." Shojah insisted. "...and...and if there is anything of the man that was once Exis's husband...let her and her children know he loves them very much...and that he always will."

Shojah let go of the crevasse wall.

And Nick screamed.

...

...

...

..."You know, Zim...you and Erin are about the same age, aren't you? Young enough..."

"That's enough!"

Trik turned around to see Ember standing there with a small, sharp-looking chunk of wall in her hands. "Are you serious?" He asked.

"I was the Little League pitching champion for 4 years." She told him, eyes narrowing. "I once struck out 10 Taiwanese All-Stars, motherfucker!" She proclaimed. "Killing Zim would be the biggest mistake of your life. And I am factoring in that gay-looking dress-skirt all you Invaders wear into the equation."

"Ms. Ember, please tell me why I ought to spare this waste of a good PAK?" Trik asked, frowning darkly.

"I heard you were looking for an innocent soul. Zim is anything but. You've never really loved anyone but yourself. So go ahead and try to slit his throat. But if you try to cash in his soul, I guarantee that check is going to bounce. And the second you slice open his jugular, I'm going to bust your head open so badly the white meat will show." She promised.

"Fine. Looks like this round belongs to you, little missy." Trik told her, holding his knife up. "And so does THIS." He added.

He flung it through the air.

**SHUNK!**

"GUUUURK."

"EMBER!" Zim screeched. With a viscious backhand he knocked Trik to the ground, unconscious, and ran over to Ember's side, kneeling by her and lifting her up.

"Don't try to move." He insisted, whimpering quietly. "I'll...Zim will get you out of here. You aren't going to die..."

"It's...it's alright..." Ember said. "I'm just...I really am glad you're here."

"But I thought you said...before, and...and what you said NOW..." Zim murmured, eyes brimming with tears.

"Sometimes you keep things hidden to protect the people you care about. I had to keep my plan hidden so I could stay away from you and not get you hurt. I figured out what Trik was up to, I didn't want you getting involved in it." She insisted.

"C'mon, you're gonna pull out of this. You grow old and you and I help rule the Empire, the-the future you said so!" Zim insisted, shaking her slightly.

Ember let out a soft, sad laugh as the blood continued to spread out over her chest, some of it leaking out the side of her mouth. "The future's...a POSSIBILITY...not a **PROMISE**. I could never...become that woman."

"You don't know that, Ember! Please, I...Zim commands you not die!" Zim begged, shaking his head rapidly. "You don't know you're gonna die! I won't let you!"

"I couldn't be that person. Because...she said that...we never said we loved each other, and...she was wrong. Zim..." Ember reached up and held his shoulder. "...Zim...I've..."

The hand's grip began to loosen.

"..._always_ _loved_..."

Tears burnt harshly down Zim's cheeks, and he cried for a long, long time, long after he felt himself, Trik and Ember's body being telekinetically lifted out of the room to safety.

A long...long...time.

...

...

...

...Shojah blinked his eyes as he looked around the red abyss he was floating in, as patches of black twisted and swerved around the red. Nearby were other contestants he recognized...Sadi, Lox, Reg...but others he did not. Two Tallest, one yellow, the other blue...who were they?

"Where are we?" He asked.

"Do you know who Pat Benatar is? Kind of a lame singer. But for some reason Miyuki likes her." A SIR unit spoke up, sighing sadly. "Don't bother looking for a way out. I think this is just where we belong."

"Who are you?" Shojah inquired.

"I'm somebody who, in death, was dragged here. Killed by a participant in Blood Sport, like you. All of us died during it in some way." The SIR unit went on quietly.

"I suppose the song was wrong." Miyuki murmured. "...Hell is not just for children."


	12. With The Power of My Mind

_All characters are property of their respective owners. Remember that now.  


* * *

__**BLOOD SPORT ROUND 11**_

_**Nyrhtak vs Vex vs Myo vs Rasmund**_

_

* * *

There are some who say that people are no better than animals. That "Darwinian Man, though well behaved, is at best a monkey shaved". Many times, people act that way. But monkeys don't wonder about WHY they just did what they did. Animals don't feel the level of emotions that people do. They don't build up cities, they don't philosophize, they don't dream of better days the way people do. We are moral creatures and when we ignore this...we damn ourselves. _

_And...well...justice always comes to the damned in SOME way._

* * *

"YOU SON...OF...A...BITCH!" Nick screamed, shaking Trik back and forth, banging him against the wall. "I ought to cut your freakin' ARMS off!"

"Zim is **GOING **to cut his arms off!!!" Zim snarled.

"No." Darth spoke up, raising his hand in the air and shaking his head as Skoodge brought a tied-up Jana over to the others. All of them sat in the lounge at the moment, trying to regroup. Black had vanished from sight, presumably hiding away somewhere on the station, but at least Jana and Trik were here. "You do this, and you will be as vile as he was. Killing Trik shall not bring Ember back from the dead."

_"He killed her!"_ Zim screamed.

"A wrong that needs righting, but murder's not the answer." Nick decided quietly. "...I...I don't know what I'm gonna do. I really, REALLY wanna punch the shit out of you right now, Trik." He told the blue-eyed Irken. "How could you do what you did?"

"I wanted to bring back my family." Trik insisted, shaking his head. "You don't understand! They were my entire world and...and when he contacted me and said he'd be able to bring them back-"

"Who's "he"?" Nick wanted to know as Zor listened outside of the doorway, eyes narrowing.

"He said his name was Redeye." Trik informed them all. "If I sacrificed one innocent, young soul, he'd bring my family back." He hung his head. "I know it was selfish, and I know it was horrible, but...I can't help it."

"...it's not all your fault. I might have had the same temptation." Red admitted, looking over at Erin.

"Let's face it, all of us have screwed up royally sometimes in our life." Purple admitted. "Our whole dang race might be a walking advertisement for sterilization, we're all so STUPID!" He groaned, throwing his hands in the air.

"First-thing's-first though. Somebody needs to be brought to justice right now, somebody who's done more than kill another to save the lives of those he loves." Darth spoke up, his blind eyes glinting furiously as he turned towards the smell of Jana's now-broken plasma sword. She shivered...it was as if he COULD see, he was so deeply looking into her eyes, staring into his very soul. It frightened her. "I've been waiting to do this since I found out what you did to THEM..."

"Listen, I'm real sorry for what happened, they..." Jana began nervously. "They knew too much, they were too much of a threat. I couldn't let them live."

"Couldn't...or wouldn't?" Darth whispered, folding his arms, still gazing accusingly into Jana's eyes as the others turned to look at the two.

"It...it was a JOB, Darithil. Nothin' **personal**, just...my job." Jana insisted.

"Just...a...JOB?" The blind Irken hissed. "It was "Just a job", huh? No, Jana. It was not "Just a job". It was a **family**. A loving, caring, **HAPPY** family."

His hands shot forward and he shook her hard, practically spitting bile into her face as his words oozed fury and hatred. **"****MY**** FAMILY!"** He snarled in her face.

He tossed her down to the ground and she landed with a THUKA-CRUD as the others nervously looked around at each other, Skoodge, Nick and Tak especially, having seen the blind Irken's "bad side" more often than the others. Darth went on, holding his claws up slightly and giving a dismissive gesture. "Of course, what would YOU know of family? Your only "mother" was a cold, unfeeling robot arm. Your father figure was your assassin instructor who's idea of family tradition was putting bullets in other people's skulls. Some family, you had." He whispered in that soft, smooth voice, eyes narrowing to foul white slits.

"...I...I..." Jana nervously gulped.

"How did it feel, Jana? How did it feel the first time your "dad" put a gun in your tiny smeet hands? Did it feel "right"?? Did you grip it tightly and think to yourself: "Yes, YES. Truly THIS is who I am"?!" He wanted to know. "Did it eel like Destiny...or a curse, little Jana?"

Jana was now sweating a little. This was dredging up old feelings and emotions she'd not been prepared to think or feel. What was the truth?

"...er...I...I don't..." She murmured.

"Or maybe it was a bit of BOTH for you, eh? Like a junkie who becomes addicted after his very first high." Darth said, flicking a claw and raising Jana's form into the air, bringing her throat into his grip, tightening his claws around her ever-so-slightly, not to draw blood, just for her to "get the picture" that she was caught. "Hooked from the very beginning, always wanting to stop afterword, but never really able to...always needing more..."

He leaned in ever-so-slightly, whispering into her face. "_No matter WHAT it takes_."

"..." Jana said nothing. She just bit her lip.

"It's a disease, Jana. An addiction. An infestation that eats away at the body and spirit and consumes everyone and everything that comes into contact with its host." The Blind Irken said, releasing her and stepping away, folding his arms over his chest and frowning darkly.

"I don't know what you mean. What's that supposed to mean?" Jana demanded, sounding a bit angry.

"It's simple. Ask yourself this question: if it is YOUR addiction...YOUR disease...then why are YOU still alive when so many OTHERS are dead?" Darth asked, a sneer passing over his lips as he turned back to look in her direction. "Hardly seems **fair**, now does it?" He asked.

Red grinned, Purple nodding enthusiastically. "Yeah, you tell her!"

"The same goes for GREED, my Tallest." Darth spoke quietly, looking in their direction with obvious disdain.

"Hey, we ain't done nothin'!" Purple insisted.

"You're right. You have done nothing. Nothing but take pleasure in all the wealth and power that comes at the expense of enslaving and killing billions. Nothing but ignore the dark reality of your life, too mesmerized by flashy ships, nachos and fancy outfits. You're absolutely right, my Tallest..._nothing_." Darth whispered at them.

A look of deep regret passed over Red's face as Purple's mouth hung open for a few moments, then snapped shut. But then Darth's tone became gentle, kindly. "But it is not too late." He admitted. "For any of you. There are ways to rectify the past...ways to make things right. But it must come from thee. You need to make the choice to fix things willingly. Red, Purple, I know it took you two quite some time to understand and it might take a different approach..." He looked over in Erin's direction, then looked over at them again. "But you "get it", don't you?"

They nodded solemnly as Darth turned to Jana. "And perhaps now YOU understand? Do you know what you need to do...to cure the disease for good?" He asked her.

"...I..." Jana murmured. "...I do." She realized softly. "I do. It's not too late, is it?"

Darth shook his head. "No."

"...all right." She said sadly. "...cure me."

Darth flicked a hand up, drawing her to him again, gently taking her cheek. He caressed her for a moment, then drew her into a deep hug, kissing her on the forehead in a tender fashion. She felt a deep sense of peace filling her, as sleepiness began to overtake her body. She let out a long, deep sigh as darkness filled her vision, feeling Darth's warm body continuing to hold her tightly to him. At long last, her form became absolutely still and the blind Irken gently laid her to rest on a nearby couch.

"Is she?..." Erin asked.

Darth tapped his head. "I promise, I'll take good care of her mind within my own. I've absorbed all her memories, her thoughts, her emotions. She's not truly dead." He insisted kindly.

"What are we going to do about Trik?" Nick wanted to know, gesturing at the blue-eyed Irken.

"...I just want five minutes." Zim asked.

"You have to promise not to actually KILL him." Erin told him.

"Oh, I won't. I'll only PARTLY kill him." Zim commented cheerily.

"...well...okay." Red commented, shrugging as Trik gulped. One by one the others left the room as Zim cracked his head to the side, then cracked his knuckles.

"Tell me something, Trik. Have you ever watched any Earth movies?" He inquired.

Trik nervously remained quiet as Zim's PAK extended something out, and he held up a small, drilling tool.

"I watch very few, but I do like some of them. And there's this one scene I like from one particular movie. You might have heard of it: "Marathon Man"." Zim remarked darkly, his eyes becoming dark red slits as a sickening smile danced on the corner of his lips.

Trik had seen that movie. His eyes widened in horror.

"I'll be Laurence Olivier, you can be Dustin Hoffman. Sound nice?" Zim asked as he pinned Trik to the wall, a small laser extending from his PAK. He held it in his hands, forcing Trik's mouth open, aiming it at his teeth.

"Auuuuh...AAAUUUUHHH..." Trik gulped.

"Ees eet safe?" Zim remarked in a fake Nazi accent.

**WHIIIIIRRRR!**

"AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGHHHH!"

"EES EET **SAFE?!?**"

...

...

...

...meanwhile, Nyrhtak stood at the top of the mountain, the red-eyed visor patches on his Ninja outfit gazing intently out. He knew who his next opponents were, but he was not too worried. Why, one of them was just a dog. And Vex only had that pipe of his. No, it was Rasmund he needed to concern himself with. This is what he told himself as he carefully gazed out over the peaks, his eyes focusing in on the sight of Rasmund himself.

Rasmund had been struck hard by Nick's denouncement of his actions. The communication officer's words kept popping back up in his head, and he wanted to get them OUT. It was annoying that he, a human-turned-Irken, had gotten the best of him. More biting that he, a human, had managed to actually make him change his ideals.

But it was because of these words that Rasmund's yellow-socketed eyes now glowed with pitiless intent. There was no remorse in them, only cruelty. He had seen the choice between good and evil was a clear and real thing, and he chose to be evil. He'd crossed the moral event horizon and didn't care.

He was currently facing down Vex, who held his pipe at the ready, eyes narrowed at Rasmund as the two looked intently at each other.

"What do you say we skip the little chat?" Rasmund inquired coldly, raising an invisible eyebrow.

"Fine by me." Vex remarked, grinning a toothy grin, his eyes narrowed. He rushed forward, his PAK legs extended and he leapt through the air as Rasmund shot his own PAK legs out. They clang together, and each one of the contestants tried to force the other one back as Rasmund sliced and slashed with his thick, sharp claws, with Vex constantly striking them away, trying to get in a few good whacks on Rasmund with his pipe.

Meanwhile, Myo nervously watched the whole scene from a nearby cave, her wings fluttering. She'd been afraid to come to Blood Sport. Afraid because though she felt she had the talent to win, she did not, in all honesty, wish to hurt innocent people. She only wanted the Tallest to be proud of her, to prove herself. She wanted to do it without killing people if she could help it.

She saw the intensity on both Vex and Rasmund's face. No, she could really only see Vex's, but she could sense a sickening miasma of cruelty coming off of the masked Rasmund, and she swore she could see him sneering.

"Do tell me!" Rasmund laughed as he and Vex continued to trade blows. "Why might you be in Blood Sport?"

"I'd think that's none of your beeswax." Vex told him, giving him a bit of a glare, not noticing Rasmund's PAK had extended a certain special needle...

"Oh, but I'm going to MAKE it my business." Rasmund told him.

JAB! SHRIK!

Vex's eyes widened and he reeled back, panting, holding onto one of his arms as he noticed the spot where the needle had slid in. The injection extension from Rasmund's PAK slowly rose up in the air and Rasmund stroked it like a sultan petting a pet snake, unmistakable glee glowing out from his eyes. "Oh, won't this be interesting." He told Vex. "Let me see your fears. ALL of them."

"S-shut it." Vex said. "I won't..." He held his pipe back up. "I won't let a sneaky tactic like that keep me from defeating you, you foul thing!"

He raced forward, swinging his pipe, and Rasmund didn't even bother with his PAK legs. He simply chuckled, blocking Vex's desperate swings and blows as the hallucinogenic toxin worked it's way through Vex's system. "Yes, by all means, keep it going. All you're doing is encouraging it to go through your bloodstream even faster." He informed Vex calmly.

"I told you to cease your talking, you disgusting, foul..." Vex snarled.

THWUCKA-CHULK! A harsh, hard backhand knocked him through the air and he went tumbling down a hill to the edge of the mountainside, moaning as he staggered back up.

"I can't believe how much of a failure you are."

Vex's eyes widened as he gazed over at the source of the voice. No...no, it couldn't be. Savannah was looking back at him, her skin slowly rotting away, her arms hanging like limp kelp, her jaw rotting off her face as she sadly yet accusingly looked over at him. "I trusted you to look after me and to stand up for me. And you couldn't even be there when it mattered most."

"I...no, Savannah, no..." Vex whispered, eyes widening in horror, shaking his head. Tears began to well up in his eyes as he clenched his hands into fists. "I didn't kill you! I DIDN'T! It's not my fault! I did all I could in this-"

"You weren't there!" Savannah snarled back, stepping towards him. "I NEEDED you there, and you weren't! You're just as guilty as the people that murdered me!"

"Savannah, please...I _love_ you." Vex begged her, sobbing tearfully, reaching out to her.

She turned away from him and began running away, up the mountainside. "No! Savannah, wait!" Vex called out desperately, running after her.

Rasmund grinned to himself as he watched Vex chase after his invisible love, calmly turning. "Well, what do you think?" He asked Nyrtrak.

"I find you sickening." Nyrhtak remarked angrily, taking up a fighting position. He then placed his hands together, making a few quick hand signs before jumping into the air as his body suddenly sparked with glowing, bright yellow energy. He swung his arms forward as electrical ninja stars swirled out from his body, aiming to rip the Masked Manipulator into shreds.

Rasmund jumped backwards instinctively, forgetting he was atop a mountain. He found himself losing his grip, sliding backwards down one of the peaks, and a quick and sudden kick to the chest from Nyrhtak sent him tumbling down as the ninja aimed his right hand at the tumbling Rasmund as his PAK extended a small engine and some wings sprang out the sides. Grinning, he launched himself at Rasmund, a burning flamethrower bursting forth from the arm.

Meanwhile, Vex continued to race after Savannah, rushing up to the top of the mountain. "Wait! No, Savannah, please!" He begged tearfully. "No!"

"I can't even LOOK at you!" The decaying Savannah shrieked, reaching the top of the mountain, standing over a large, sudden drop.

"Savannah, I beg you. I'll do anything." Vex whispered tearfully, reaching out with his hands.

Suddenly he felt a pair of hands pull him back. "Stop it!" Myo insisted. "She's not there! Whoever you think you're talkin' to, she's not there!"

"Let GO of me!" Vex screamed angrily, thrashing his arms around as Myo tried to tug him back. But she was only 13 years old, and he was a good foot and a half taller than he was. It was a strain just to keep him in place, let alone to keep him STEADY. And unfortunately, things got worse. He saw "Savannah" toss herself off...

At first, he was quiet, his mouth hanging open, no words passing his lips. Myo let go of him, hovering backwards through the air on her wings as her robotic pet cat Chibi stood near her, "meowing" in confusion.

And then Vex turned around to glare at her. "You...YOU..." He snarled.

"_Uhoh_." Myo gulped.

...

...

...

...meanwhile, Tallest Black angrily faced down Nexus, pointing a claw in his face. "You had better do something about them!" He insisted. "You're in this as deep as I am. You stand to gain just as much from their deaths as I do and-"

Nexus held his hand up. "Relax, relax" He remarked cheerily. "I assure you, I have complete and utter control over the souls of those who perished during this competition. From the moment it began, their deaths have ensured I have control over their spirits." He rubbed his chest gem with his gloved hands as lovingly as if it was his own child, a horrid, shark-like grin on his features. "So if all else fails...well..."

"Fine, fine." Black nodded, turning away. "But that's only a long-run solution. I need results now." He told Nexus, frowning darkly.

"Well, I think I know how to deal with them. It's true I might not be able to take hostages, but nothing is stopping you. And the "good guys" would never want to endanger the lives of those they looooove." Nexus crowed.

Black nodded, a horrid grin spreading on HIS features as well. "_Molto beneeee_." He said in his vague Italian accent, steepling his fingers together. "And I know just who'll help me." He thought to himself, exiting Nexus's room and taking an elevator down to the bottom floor of the space station.

He exited the door, walking down another long hallway into a bathroom that was filled up with faintly-green-colored smoke, seeing just the man he was looking for sitting nearby, long, sharp claws holding a joint up to his mouth. He calmly took in a breath, then blew out some smoke, looking Black over. "Can I help you?" He asked calmly.

"I believe we can benefit each other, Loc." Black commented, looking smug. "You're a man who's allegiance is ruled by expedience."

"...eh?" Loc raised an imaginary eyebrow up, tossing the joint to the side.

"Money talks." Black said simply. "And for you, it talks very LOUDLY."

"Now y'all speakin' my language. So, what might I do ya for?" Loc inquired.

Black grinned pitilessly again.

Meanwhile, Tjazz was having another interview on "On-Air". A most interesting one indeed.

"Welcome BACK to ON-Air, ladies and gents and various jelly spores!"

Her pet Jelly Spore, a cute little purple thing, squeaked in delight.

"From time to time, we're gonna be talkin' to people who have had to take up new jobs in this rough economy we're all stuck in. Helped along, I suspect, by the ridiculous costs of Blood Sport, such as over-paid janitorial crews that clean up vomit, "love juice" and other lovely liquids in ridiculously big stadiums that broadcast the events and LORD ALMIGHTY, the snacks. How can it cost so much to make a single plate of nachos, and how can they charge even more FOR said nachos?" Tjazz rolled her eyes. "Anyhow, some factors that definitely are NOT contributing to the hateful economy we're in are our lovely sponsors for the day, "Kila's Crab Cakes". Remember, if they taste like crab...you're clearly not eating Kila's."

"I feel nervous." Bob admitted, rubbing the back of his very round head, a head as equally round as Nick's.

"Relax, ya little pygmy puff." Tjazz told him. "I don't bite. So tell me, for somebody who's supposed to be on the low rung of the economic ladder, you sure seem to be dressed reaaaal nice."

"Well, appearances are very important in my new occupation."

"Ah, new occupation?" Tjazz placed her hands together as Bob adjusted the nice-looking tie he had on his three-piece suit. She could smell a faint cologne on his body. "So what is it you do to make ends meet?"

"I am a, uh, prostitute."

"...you're a...you're a male prostitute." Tjazz inquired, blinking a few times as her Jelly Spore's eyes widened, it's mouth becoming a perfect "o".

"Well...yeah!" Bob said, nodding his head.

"...uh...er...are you clients, are they male or female?" Tjazz inquired, trying not to get a bit weirded out by this.

"Mostly male. For some reason, there's not much need for male prostitutes on the planet Irk. So what I basically do is spend my weekends around the central city's inner regions and the rest of my time on Foodcourtia, looking for "Slash" loves. An-and I charge 20 dollars to perform oral-" Bob began to explain.

"Okay, uh-uh...I gather then that you're a homosexual?" Tjazz asked, looking amazed that so many people could be obsessed with this concept of "slash", especially Irkens.

"Nope. I'm heterosexual." Bob informed her. "This is just something I do to support myself and my wife and smeets. And I'm not complaining, really, it's not even the worst job I've had. If you close your eyes, it helps, it really-"

"Okay, okay, okay!" Tjazz waved her hands in the air. "I'm almost afraid to ask. What was worse than being a male prostitute on Irk?"

"Well, I used to be a table. They'd stick their drinks on me, and it was minimum wage, and I got kicked around a lot and it was really hard on my knees." Bob admitted sadly. "So I can make a pretty good living as a male prostitute. On a good week, say there's a special sale at some diner nearby, I can make a good 600-700 monies. And it's, of course, tax free money, and my clients do treat me fairly well..."

"I take it then that you've had some unpleasant surprises?" Tjazz wanted to know, raising an invisible eyebrow.

"I've been shot four times." Bob admitted. "But I'm not complaining. Anyhow, I don't have much change with me, so I guess I'll just work the parking lot tonight, and for those interested, you can find me usually at Central City's main warehouse region, wearing my fez and feather."

"...well...uh...um..." Tjazz bit her lip. "Well, thank you Bob for having the guts to share your story with us..."

"Your Jelly Spore's vomiting on my shoes." Bob commented, looking downwards as the Jelly Spore let out another retch.

...

...

...

...Myo held her pink wand up, trying to block the oncoming pipe strikes from Vex, who continued to slam his pipe at her to bash her brains in. He'd been completely consumed by grief, certain that Myo had prevented him from saving his beloved Savannah.

"How dare you!" He snarled at Myo, a fury filling his vision. He no longer saw an innocent little girl. He saw only a winged demon, and blind rage was preventing the fear toxin from getting it's claws into him. Myo continued to try and block as he swung the pipe down on her wand again and again. "I'll kill you, you little disgusting piece of"

"It's not nice to swear." Myo spoke up nervously.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Vex snarled, suddenly jumping high up into the air.

"Forgive me." Myo thought to herself, swinging her wand in a swerving motion. A pinkish sweep of energy launched itself out from her wand and struck Vex clear in the stomach, knocking him to the ground with a groan as she wiped some sweat off her forehead, turning to look down the mountain range. The Ninja and the Manipulator were facing each other down, circling each other, clear and obvious distaste oozing off their forms.

"I am going to break you into a hundred different pieces." Nyrhtak promised, jumping backwards and tossing a sharp metal shuriken from his gauntlet.

"By all means, try!" Rasmund commented, twirling away from the shuriken and extending his sharp injector from his PAK, trying to spear Nyrhtak, who rushed away. Rasmund growled in anger. Clearly any attacks from the distance weren't going to cut it. He'd have to do this from up close. Claws held high, he rushed forward at the ninja, moving fluidly alongside of him as they raced up the mountain on their PAK legs.

The manipulator saw his chance and jumped forward, slamming into the ninja. Pink and black and yellow and tan tumbled back down the hill as their fists slammed into each other over and over, neither side giving in. At long last Nyrhtak kicked Rasmund off of him, launching him into the air as he jumped up and kicked downward, launching Rasmund into the ground.

"You little pest!" Rasmund growled, rushing forward to try and slam into Nyrhtak, but he stopped himself just in time to avoid a swing of a surging, reddish/pink energy sword that Nyrhtak held up high in the air. The ninja grinned and spiraled through the air in a spinning circular motion.

"Have a taste of the Kai-Ten-Giri!" The ninja laughed as his burning laser sword cut into Rasmund's chest, making him reel back in pain. Nyrhtak took up another fighting pose as Rasmund frowned darkly behind his mask. This annoying little pest was far stronger than he'd thought.

"And now ANOTHER Kai-Ten-Giri!" Nyrhtak cackled, rushing forward...

But Rasmund jumped up at just the right time, striking out with his foot, knocking Nyrhtak to the ground. Grinning to himself, Rasmund slowly began walking towards the downed ninja. He then raised a PAK leg in the air and brought it down.

SCHLUCKA-CHUNK!

Nyrhtak's head came completely off in one fell swoop and Rasmund sneered behind his mask. "Well, that wasn't too difficult. Without your fancy tricks, you're-"

BRUDDA-BOOOOOOOOM!

A burning wave of power shot into his body, knocking him to the ground, and he gasped in pain, seeing Myo floating in the air, holding her wand in a battle position, pink eyes narrowed.

"You big meanie...you're gonna pay for making that poor Vexxy feel so sad!" She promised. She leveled her wand back at Rasmund and an enormous blast of pink energy slammed into him, sending him through the air and into a nearby cave. Holding her wand up high, Myo raced after him.

The shinobi's body twitched.

...

...

...

...Loc calmly nodded his head as Black continued to inform him of exactly who he was supposed to kill, HOW Black wanted them killed, and WHEN he wanted them killed after he'd kidnapped them. "Now, it's important that we get them all into someplace I can "deal" with them properly, and only THEN are you to execute their friend Erin on the broadcast." Black informed him as they headed through the dark hallways of the lowest level on the station, only the occasional glow from a single light above lighting the way. "Do you understand?"

"Ain't no thang but a chicken wang." Loc calmly remarked, nodding his head, licking his lips a bit. "Just one thang I gots to axe ya." He asked of the Tallest.

"Name it." Black remarked as they walked into a nearby room, Loc pushing the door open so Black could walk in first, sitting on a nearby couch in this "Employee lounge", eyeing a nearby soda machine.

"What will you be paying me?" Loc inquired, standing near a closet, leaning against the wall nearby as he raised an invisible eyebrow.

"Let me guess. Your price has just become...astronomical." Black inquired. "I assure you, I can pay you most handsomely." He said, steepling his fingers. "Will 500,000 monies up front suffice?"

Loc looked intrigued, eyes flashing as Black went on. "And once you've completed the job, I will pay you the other 500,000."

"Wellllll. You drive a haaaard bargain, chief." Loc admitted softly. "I'd have to be a real idiot not to be interested in your offer. But, unfortunately..." He grinned and calmly rapped on the closet door. "Somebody beatcha to it. Somebody offerin' what I REALLY enjoy. Something far more valuable than money."

Sue stepped out of the closet. She was holding up a stun pistol.

Black didn't even have time to finish his startled gasp of "oh" before he was shot clean in the forehead, his body slumping to the ground as Darth also stepped out of the closet.

"I knew employing you would come in handy." Sue said. "At last." She remarked, draping her arms around Loc. "Somebody who'll appreciate me. I don't know why I'm not more appreciated. I've got brains. I've got charm! I've got-"

"**Huge** problems." Loc admitted, looking downwards. "Ah, but don't despair cuz I look at your pair."

"At least YOU'LL appreciate "The Girls"." Sue admitted.

"Uh...speaking of which?" Loc asked calmly.

Sue stepped back and held onto the end of a golden pull-cord that was attached to her chest. She tugged it down, and her chest BULGED to enormous proportions. Now they were obscuring her head. Smiling with obvious glee, Loc lifted Sue up into the air and they headed out the door. Granted, Loc had to hold her to the side because "The Girls" were having a hard time LEAVING the room, but it was time that he spent some quality time with his new, very..._very_ _generous_...employer.

Darth knelt by Black's form, placing his claws upon the Tallest's head and concentrating. If he was going to defeat Black forever, he would not do it here. He would do it in the realm of the mind.

"You ought to thank me. If your will is strong, you might actually have a real chance of surviving." The blind Irken whispered. "I am showing you more mercy than you would have ever shown one such as me."

...

...

...

...Myo looked around the enormous, slimy walls of the caves. She'd been walking for a long time, wanting to give her wings a rest. But she could see neither Rasmund nor anybody else within the dark, long "tomb" around her.

It was making her understandably frightened, but her thoughts were keeping her focused despite the mist filling the tunnels. "Get Rasmund, get Rasmund, get-"

It was then that she DID see light. And she wished she hadn't, for the sight it was illuminating was horrifying, making her shriek in terror. Irken skulls, almost as large as human heads, had been stuck upon long, sharp poles that were embedded in the ground all around her. Even the pole itself was made up of a long, pale shank of bone. The monstrous cavern she was in was completely decorated with numerous skulls embedded in the walls, with tongues woven around the corners in web-like patterns...still dripping blood, freshly-ripped from their mouths.

Mercifully, there was one comforting part in the cavern, for at the far side of the wall was an unusual waterfall, fed from an underground stream spilling out of a stony hole, and flowing into a pool underneath. The water was a dazzling white, glowing and fluorescent, as if the pool was not made of water at all, but thousands and thousands of white sparks. It looked serene...gentle.

"How unusual. I suppose your pure-hearted innocence is keeping the entire place from becoming absolutely horrifying." Rasmund's voice called out, mellifluous and almost drawn out to the point of conceit. Actually, scratch that, his voice was clearly OOZING with the stuff. "How intriguing. I wonder, after I've dissected you, if I'll be able to find some defect within your head."

Rasmund then snorted. "Ah, but you're a "Magical" type, aren't you? Your body will vanish upon death, I imagine."

Myo felt nervous. The truth was, she WASN'T a Magical. Only the wand she carried was. She was borrowing power. Irkens were naturally "Logical", unlike humans. They didn't have the innate magical "pool" of talent that could be tapped into with the proper tools. And the threat of dissection...

Rasmund was hiding himself at the very ceiling of the cavern, clinging to the wall like a giant spider, his eyes glowing with malice, claws eager to tear. Her fear, her terror...it was rising. Delectable. He slowly descended down using some wires from his PAK, reaching down for her head so he could-

"Hey!" A voice called out.

Rasmund turned his head and gasped at the sight, and Myo shrieked. Nyrhtak was standing there, holding his own head up. He grinned behind his mask, his face still showing obvious amusement at their surprise. "Mind backing away from the girl so I can defeat her?" He asked calmly.

"I wouldn't take another step. I've got the brain of this little girl right where-" Rasmund began, holding his claws to Myo's head.

"You've got the brain of a little girl!" Nyrhtak laughed. Rasmund scowled. "I think you've got the MUSCLES of a little girl too!" He added, putting his head back on.

"How the heck is that even possible?" Rasmund wondered out loud. "What does it take to defeat you?"

"Three chapters, according to "Naruto"." Myo commented.

"Don't break the Fourth Wall, that's **MY** shtick!!!" Renee shouted from inside the strange soul-prison she and the other deceased were stuck within.

"Sorry!" Myo yelled back, amazed at how she'd even been able to hear her. But she wasn't out of tricks just yet. She kneed Rasmund in the crotch and he fell to the ground, gasping and swearing in obvious pain as Nyrhtak rushed forward, running towards Rasmund who snarled and stood back up to face his opponent...

"Play NICE!" Myo yelled, pointing the wand at the two of them as it flashed a bright pink and yellow color.

POOF!

They were suddenly doing a very interesting dance, holding their hands above their heads, swinging their hips back and forth as they opened and closed their hands, singing a song they had no understanding of in perfect synchronization!

_**Dansa med oss, Klappa era händer  
Gör som vi gör , ta nagrå steg at vanster!  
Lyssna och lar, Missa inte chanson, **_

_**Nu ar vi har med...Caramelldansen!**_

_**O-o-oa-oa... O-o-oa-oa-a!  
O-o-oa-oa...O-o-oa-oa-a!**_

Satisfied with this, Myo calmly walked back the way she came, trying to avoid looking at the walls. But when she did, she noticed that the skulls were slowly fading, being replaced with cheerful-looking smiley faces. And Rasmund and Nyrhtak noticed that the sparkling water behind them was now pooling over, reaching their feet.

"Uh...I think...it's getting higher..." Nyrhtak murmured as their bodies continued to dance, Myo long gone from the cavern as the sparkling white water began to rise up to their knees.

"Don't look at ME!" Rasmund hissed. "YOU'RE the ninja! Pull off some reality-defying move and save us!"

"US?" Nyrhtak snapped as the water rose to his waist. "And in case you haven't noticed, my hands are kind of busy! I can't do any hand gestures!"

"You weren't doing any hand gestures when I cut your HEAD OFF!" Rasmund snapped back, the water now at their chest.

"Hey, if it worked for those two members of Akatsuki, then-" Nyrhtak began.

Rasmund hissed furiously. "Don't you give me that, I read that story, that second member was a clone created by-okay, you know what, there comes a point where you have to say that something is just f—king stupid, and GLUB-GLUB-GLUUUUUUU..."

Meanwhile, Myo gently lifted the unconscious Vex up from the ground, patting him on the cheek. "Hey? Hey, mister? You alright?" She asked gently.

Vex's eyes fluttered. "Wh...what happened?"

"Rasmund did some freaky thing to you. Made you see things. But I got him, it's all okay."

Vex smiled, gently taking her hand. "Then I am indebted to you, little lady." He told her kindly, kissing her on the hand in a chivalric fashion.

Meanwhile, Sadi sighed as Shojah finished up another round of poker with Felix, the Vortian grateful he'd packed some cards. "This is getting boring."

"You don't have to tell US twice." Yree muttered angrily. "I wish something would-"

POOF!

Rasmund, spluttering, was deposited right on top of Felix, knocking the cards all around as a tic mark appeared on Shojah's forehead and he snarled angrily. Yree suddenly found she was holding onto a ninja that was looking right at her.

"Hi. I'm Nyrhtak." He said. "...you can spell that with one "y", by the way."

"...oooooooh. I LIKE a man in pink." Yree told him, licking her lips.

...

...

...

... Black awoke to find himself floating in a starry abyss. He could faintly hear a bell ringing off in the distance, but as he turned in the direction of the ringing, he could see only more stars slowly moving by him.

**BGM: The Extreme, as Performed by The Black Mages**

He could faintly hear chanting...the chanting of some choir as they sang off in the distance to soft piano music, and then he could see...he could see Darth standing there, upon a floating platform of light, eyes looking intently at him...

SEEING him.

"You're in my world now." He spoke softly, every movement of his mouth seeming to move in slow motion as he spread his arms wide. He looked up into the heavens, then jumped backwards, falling down, down, into the dark, starry abyss. Black looked down at the disappearing white figure that fell into a nearby star and then...

BWOOOOOOOM!

An enormous blast of starry energy as Darth rose into the air, surrounded by burning white light, holding onto a staff, a burning, bright star shining at the end of it. He floated in the air, twirling it around before pointing it at Black. "Ready thyself!" He called out.

Black took up a fighting pose as he clenched his fists, then rushed forward at Darth, slashing with his PAK legs, as Darth calmly rested the staff on his shoulder, the shining white aura around his body protecting him from the Tallest's blows. At last, he kicked Black square in the jaw, and Black felt a tooth go flying out as Darth then slammed the staff into him, knocking him through the starry abyss.

He whizzed through the air, gasping in pain, but before he could re-right himself, Darth raised a hand in the air and Black felt a burning hot wave of pain shoot through his back as an enormous, hulking, burning meteorite slammed into his back, making him screech in pain.

He was sent careening down through the abyss as Darth held the staff up, suddenly zooming through the air and striking Black square in the chest, punching through his armor. Striking and slamming the star at the end of his staff into Black, he began to rip the armor off of his foe into tiny chunks, slamming it down harder and faster with every passing moment before he finally slammed it into Black's head.

KRUCHA-KRAAAACK!

Black went flying backwards, slamming into a brick wall and sliding down it as the wall slowly collapsed around him, transforming into harsh, solid bonds that pinned his arms and legs to the ground.

"Come on, Black! Defend yourself!" Darth snarled. "Summon your mighty mental prowess! Or are you as big a coward in your head as you are outside?"

Black snarled in fury as he rose up from the bonds, his entire form bulging and growing as he became an enormous, hulking behemoth. He let out a long, furious howl, slashing and slicing at Darth as the white-robed Irken whizzed around him like a fly. "I'll squash you into jelly, jelly-eyes!" He swore, his cape billowing around him, teeth gnashing.

"You may try." Darth promised as he rushed up into the heavens above, the stars swirling around them even faster as Black opened up his mouth, an enormous, dark, pulsing beam of energy forming at a circular point before his maw. Swirls of violent energy rushed around it before he finally launched it at high speed at Darth, who held his staff down. It sent out a small shockwave of green-tinted light, then he rushed forward.

THA-SWHOOOMBAAAAAAAH!

Pushing through the hate-filled onflux of foul mental energy, Darth could feel his mind being ravaged, his mental will struggling against the pure hatred of Tallest Black. But he would not give up. He could feel the presence of his family, his friends...and now they flew around him, the memories of their existences making the beam of black energy dissipate as Darth flew down and slammed his staff into Black's head.

It cracked open, and Black went flying backwards, shrinking before Darth's eyes as his mental form began to dissolve away into tiny black grains of sand, a final horrid wail escaping his lips before it was cut off...

The echo lingered on...

And on...

...and on...


	13. Apocalypse Now

_Zergarikiaka is property of __**shade4716**__ and all other characters belong to their respective owners. Remember that now.

* * *

_

_**BLOOD SPORT ROUND 12**_

_**Zor vs Zergarikiaka**__** vs **__**Loc vs Nick**_

_

* * *

I often think hard about the reason why the Irken Empire allows such open cruelty toward it's own people. Yes, programming within the PAK makes Irkenkind more prone to world-conquering traits, but they have free will. Choice. __**Sentience**__. Most know the consequences of what defying their programming could be, but they choose not to even though they know that the enslavement and destruction of sentient life is wrong. I've thought hard about why they don't do the right thing._

_And the only explanation I've come up with is that they just don't care. _

_So why do I? Because I'm a person. And while the galaxy itself might not care about what happens to others, the people within it HAVE to. That's what makes us people. _

_But perhaps you are reading this and you want to say "Oh give me a break, jelly-eyes. I don't care about the fate of a technologically inferior planet. I don't give two shits about walking, talking goats. I don't care about anybody that stands in my way. I just care about looking out for number one." _

_Well, I say this to you: Go back to the rock you crawled out from, you disgusting little bug._

_But I respect the office that you hold, Control Brains, and I'm honored you'd even remotely listen to my opinion. _

_...okay. Not really. Get stuffed._

* * *

Back at the cafeteria, White was pouring Frequency and several others some beer, grinning broadly as he noticed Loc, one arm wrapped around Sue, was bragging about how he was gonna "Bust a cap in Zor's ass". Nick, sitting near the albino human, turned to White. "What do you think?"

"He MEANS it. If he says he's gonna blow your ass off, he means it. He's fuckin' insane. Not in a totally bad way though." White grinned. "And he DOES have a way with the ladies-"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Nick groaned, leaning back in his seat as Frequency clinked a cup with the black-forehead-tattoo'd Caim, who nodded in a kindly fashion. "What're you drinking anyhow? I'll be honest, it smells like pure gasoline."

"This is Hawkesbury River Wine." Frequency told him cheerfully. "Good Aussie wine!" He laughed.

"I've been down there myself." Nick told Frequency, taking a sip of some soda. "Those people sure know how to take it easy."

"Are you fair dinkum?" Frequency asked, raising an eyebrow and giving him a big grin.

Nick laughed, raising his glass up into the air as White began to tap his foot on the ground, bouncing his head back and forth as Nick began to sing.

_**Oh I'm fair dinkum, bloody hell I am!  
I've loved the smell of gum-leaves since I was in a pram!**_

_**Some places might be greener, but I don't give a damn!  
Cuz I'm fair dinkum, bloody hell I am!**_

Dr. Nimbus, who was also eagerly slurping down the Hawkesbury River wine, grinned broadly as Nick jumped over the table, landing near him and giving him a quick noogie as Nora, sitting near with her mother and her two brothers, banged a spoon on a plate to contribute to the rhythm.

_**Well I was in the doctor's just the other day!**_

_**He told me take an aspirin, the pain would go away!  
So I pulled out me checkbook, since sickness doesn't pay?**_

_**I said "Are you fair dinkum"? What did the doctor say?**_

The doctor laughed and held up the wine, clinking it with Nick's glass.

"Aw, sure!" He said, giving them all a broad grin.

_**I'm fair dinkum! Bloody hell I am!  
I've loved the smell of gum-leaves since I was in a pram!**_

_**Some places might be greener, but I don't give a damn!  
Cuz I'm fair dinkum, bloody hell I am!**_

White handed him the bottle of wine and the doctor took a long swig of it as Nick turned to Frequency, who had done up his cap like a turban, and had, for some reason, whipped out a can of shaving cream to give himself a beard.

_**Well I whistled down a taxi cab and headed for the east!  
A bad case of the munchies, I was ready for a feast!**_

_**The driver said "Indian". "Oh gee,I'd rather not!"**_

Frequency imitated an Indian driver, nudging Nick's side. "Why don't you come to MY place! My curry's rather hot! Heh-heh!"

"Are you fair dinkum?" Nor asked, making May blink in surprise.

_**Oh I'm fair dinkum. Bloody hell I am!  
I've loved the smell of gum-leaves since I was in a pram!**_

_**Some places might be greener, but I don't give a damn!  
Cuz I'm fair dinkum, bloody hell I am!**_

Nick laughed and slid over to White as FREQUENCY took a long swig from the wine as people began to bang on the tables and the ground, joining in the song.

_**Well I tipped the nice cabbie so he wouldn't make a fuss!**_

_**I shot out like a bullet and I grabbed a Bondai Bus!**_

"_**Take me to the waves, mate! I'm DYIN' for a dip!"  
**_

"Now you be very careful...adn watch you don't slip!" White said in a thick Boston accent, whacking Nick on the shoulder.

"Are you fair dinkum?" Dr. Nimbus inquired, somehow pulling out a "Crocodile Dundee" hat from his labcoat and putting it on his head.

_**Oh I'm fair dinkum, bloody hell I am!  
I've loved the smell of gum-leaves since I was in a pram!**_

_**Some places might be greener, but I don't give a damn!  
Cuz I'm fair dinkum, bloody hell I am!**_

Nick handed White the bottle of wine as he jumped up on the table and waved his glass in the air, singing loudly and proudly as other people banged on the tables and stomped on the ground even louder than before.

_**Everybody's claiming Australia as their own!  
I'm no aborigine so I won't point the bone!  
It shows good taste mate, so I shouldn't moan!  
And if you've got a problem, get the British on the phone!  
Hell, we're fair dinkum, bloody hell we are!  
We all love koalas and sing around the bar!**_

_**And call somebody's missus to drive the flamin' car...**_

_**Yeah we're fair dinkum, bloody hell we are!**_

"Yeah, bloody hell!" Nora laughed, making May gape.

"This is the serious bit." Nick announced, clearing his throat and holding up his cup. "Heh-hem."

_**Now give me a home where life is what you make!  
Where I can walk about...just for walkin's sake!**_

_**Where I can tell our leaders to go jump in the lake!**_

_**But I won't knock my homeland, you make no mistake!**_

By now EVERYONE in the cafeteria could and DID sing along with the chorus.

_**Oh I'm fair dinkum, bloody hell I am!  
I've loved the smell of gum-leaves since I was in a pram!**_

_**Some places might be greener, but I don't give a damn!  
Cuz I'm fair dinkum, bloody hell I am!**_

_**Oh I'm fair dinkum, bloody hell I am!  
I've loved the smell of gum-leaves since I was in a pram!**_

_**Some places might be greener, but I don't give a damn!  
Cuz IIIII'm faaaair diiiiinkum, bloody-hell-I-aaaaaaaam!**_

With that, everyone cheered and laughed happily. Darth raised a glass of wine to his lips as Jana's voice echoed in his head.

"What the?...where...where am I?" She spoke up, awakening to find herself in a sparkling pearly palace on a cushy-looking red-blanketed bed. Darth was calmly sitting nearby, looking sweetly at her.

"You're inside my head, Jana." He spoke softly. "It's okay, it's okay." He said, holding her close as if she was a shipwreck survivor and he was a comforting sailor that had just rescued her from the sea. "You willingly accepted your fate. That counts for a lot. It counts for you being able to decide where you get to go from here." He added kindly.

"...what...what do you mean?" Jana asked, seeing a nearby television. She looked at it intently as it turned on, showing off her...her body? Lying on a lounge couch?

"No, no you don't get your body back just yet." Darth informed her, stroking her back. "There's a price you have to pay. You need to confront the cruelty you've waged on others." He instructed her, reaching up to her head and patting it as he let go of her and gestured with a hand. The television floated towards them and Darth stood up, his mental form leaving Jana's consciousness alone. "You need to watch this. All of it. Don't shrink from it."

Jana's hands dug into the cloth blankets below her as she whimpered at the sights that began to show themselves before her, and hear the sounds of her own cries. "No, no, please...please, sir, I'll be good...I'll be good..." She murmured, repeating the words of her past self.

Meanwhile, Nick looked over at Loc as a form stood nearby, looking him over. She regarded him with a mixture of amusement, pity and interest. This was a very interesting opponent indeed, she thought to herself as she slunk back into the hallways. Soon it would be time for the fight to begin.

...

...

...

... Zergarikiaka, better known as Zerg, stood at the top of the beams of the industrial zone. The entire place was situated by enormous docks with towering structures long abandoned and derelict rising into the sky, steely grey and black and blue in color. There were high beams crisscrossing over her head and others down below as she looked downward, her form slightly arched.

Zerg had the unfortunate condition known as Marfan's Syndrome, caused by a defective gene. She didn't know how she'd gotten it and didn't care. It gave her sclerosis of the spine, a fragile squeedlyspooch and a bad case of near-sightedness in her yellow eyes. She wore permanent mascara over her deep eyes and a trench-style lab coat over a solid black assassin's uniform.

Her pants of boot-cut black denim jeans rippled in the wind as she looked down, eyes peering at the form she'd been watching in the cafeteria, seeing Nick approaching Loc, her shoulder spikes quivering as she grinned in anticipation of this new development.

"Well, Loc." Nick spoke up, hoisting his rifle blaster up to rest upon his shoulder. "What do you say we try and do this fairly?" He wanted to know.

"Oh really?" Loc inquired, giving Nick an interested look. "Y'all must think a'hm pretty dumb. I ain't fallin' for any of your tricks, boy."

"No tricks." Nick insisted. "I want a good, clean fight. No guns. How's that sound? Just mano a mano?"

"Fine. No guns." Loc decided, putting his pistols away as Nick slung his rifle back over his shoulder and onto his back. He flexed his claws. "But I ain't holdin' back on y'all, kid. You know I'm goin' all out."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Nick insisted, putting up his fists. "And my-my, what lovely claws you have."

THWISH! Loc swiped at him with his long, clawed hands, laughing as Zerg watched Nick jump backwards to avoid the slash. "Reckon I needs myself a manicure then! I'll get one AFTER I rip ya a new one."

"You can try!" Nick laughed, jumping backwards again, then leaping over Loc and thrusting his foot out.

BAM! Loc caught it in his hands. "Nice try." He said, suddenly picking Nick up, swinging him around, then flinging him through the air. Nick went flying backwards and crashed into an enormous metal column, groaning as he staggered up. He barely dodged in time to avoid another slash from Loc, then quickly did a downward sweeping kick, knocking Loc off his feet...

But Loc was skilled. He jumped backwards, getting back into a fighting stance...pistols held up.

"Hey, what happened to "mano a mano"?" Nick wanted to know.

"Just wanted to see the look on yer face. Priceless!" Loc insisted, putting them away and getting his fists back out. "I admit, you're tougher than I thought. This might take a-"

His eyes saw Zerg. They turned to harsh slits. "...looks like we gotta little lady watchin'."

Nick looked upwards as Zerg suddenly grinned down at them, then promptly vanished with a BLINK, appearing between the two. "Little, nothing! She's taller than I am! And almost as tall as you!"

"Gee, I'm flattered, kid." Zerg spoke.

"...is that a Chicago accent?" Nick asked, blinking a few times.

"Yeah, so?" Zerg asked, frowning darkly at him, showing off her retractable claws.

"Nothing. I LIKE it."

"Aw, gee. Thanks." Zerg commented cheerily. "By the way, Loc..." She looked into his eyes and frowned. "You've got VERY naughty thoughts running through your head."

Loc grinned. "What can I say...I have a thang for the tall ones."

"Are you gonna stand there and flirt or are you two gonna fight?" Nick asked.

"Good point." Zerg laughed, rushing forward and slashing with her claws. "Since I'm in a good mood, I'll be playin' yer no-guns game!" She laughed, as she and Loc sliced and slashed at each other, moving in a danse macabre as Nick slyly edged to the far end of the platform they were all on, then lowered himself down and beneath it, taking off.

...

...

...

...Zor sighed as he watched Nick moving away from the others, heading deeper into the industrial zone, hiding in a warehouse by the docks. He felt terrible about what he had to do. Nick was not an evil being at all, and the idea of killing him filled him with genuine disgust.

"He hasn't done anything to me, hasn't done anything wrong..." Zor muttered, feeling Redeye's presence in his head. "I should let this one go. He's shown himself to be nothing but honorable and kind towards all of his opponents."

"**It's not HIS dear Calico in danger though, is it?"** Redeye asked quietly.

"I can't believe you asked that man to sacrifice an innocent young soul. Why would you want that?" Zor demanded to know as he slunk along the walls near the alley as quietly as possible.

"**I was TRYING to break him out directly. I would have been able to use that soul as a direct link from the Spiritual Realm to the Physical Realm. Right now I can only communicate, not actually appear. If Trik had done his job right, he would have gotten his family back and I would have been able to break into Calico's holding pen to save him!" **Zor's "patron" hissed furiously. **  
**

Zor was silent.

**"But I still need deaths...I need the power that their demises will bring. You've done fairly well so far in slaying Keek and Renee...one more noble-leaning soul shall do it. The action alone will be enough for me to gain the power to appear in your realm. No longer shall I simply be a voice in your head." **Redeye went on.

"Very well." Zor murmured. "...I'll try and be quick about this then." He said, hearing the sound of somebody playing on an ocarina inside the warehouse. Nick was clearly taking a bit of a break from the fight. And, from the sound of it, he was playing "Zion", an old Vortian song. He moved to the front door, slinking through the shadows, his eyes narrowing as he moved past rows and rows of enormous boxes of items long abandoned, getting closer and closer to the sound of the music.

Something felt...wrong. It was bothering him, this song. Not the song itself, but the playing of it. Yes, the song was meant to repeat over and over, yet something about all of this seemed-

It was then that he saw something located behind a particularily large stack of metal boxes. He blinked, approaching it as if swimming through a dream and picking it up...a small tape recorder.

"...oh shit." He muttered.

**KA-BLAM!**

...

...

...

... "Welcome back to "On Air"!" Tjazz remarked as she leaned back in her chair, sititng near Dib, who had his hands folded in his lap. "We've just had an excellent interview with Dibbun Membrane of Planet Earth, home to an enormous amount of pop culture that's spread throughout the galaxy like WILDFIRE!" She laughed happily, turning to Dib. "And we have his sister locked in the Green Room. We were gonna have her on as a guest."

"But I came up with a MUCH better idea. We've locked her in there for an hour and a half." Dib spoke up, an unmistakable look of glee on his features.

"And we've told her we still intend to have her on, but of course we don't." Tjazz added, resting her head on her hands.

"You know, I kinda feel bad for my sister, but on the other hand, she HAS had this coming. I guess, in a way, I'm doing this for all the people who watched her be such a sadist and who couldn't do a thing." Dib told everyone who was listening to "On Air".

"Let's check in on her. This is Gazeline Membrane...in the Green Room!" Tjazz said as her pet jelly spore flicked a nearby switch and a microphone was turned on in the green-painted, currently-locked office-lounge-size room Gaz was in. She was banging on the door, sweat pouring down her forehead, locks sticking to her head.

"LET-ME-OUT, DAMMIT! LET-ME-OOOOUT!"

"Gaz? Gaz, can you hear us? Listen, just in case we don't get the door unlocked in time, why don't we do the interview right now?" Tjazz announced through the two-way microphone system that allowed them to speak to each other.

"What? Oh, this is beyond ridiculous!" Gaz snapped. "I can't believe how retarded you are!"

"Yeah, I know, it's embarrassing having you stuck in there, but we're on the air on On-Air, so tell me, what is your primary problem with your own kind?" Tjazz asked.

"Pfft. Where to **begin**!" Gaz laughed. "We're stupid, we're ignorant, nobody really bothers to notice the truth about the galaxy, and all we care about is our self-gratification. We're the most selfish assholes in the galaxy."

"This from a girl who would probably sell the entire race out for a stupid video game." Dib muttered under his breath, making Tjazz giggle.

"And to top it off there's the stupid idea that some people have that human nature's NOT about "being number one" but in helping others, I mean, that is just...GAAAH! GET ME OUTTA HERE!" Gaz screeched, banging on the door again.

Tjazz cut off the communications channel between the Green Room and her and Dib. "Well, that was Gazeline Membrane folks, let's...give her a little while and come back to her later."

Meanwhile, Loc and Zerg were also very hot and sweaty. But not from being locked in a room so much as being locked in deadly combat. "Y'all aint' half bad, baby." Loc said as he panted, sweat pouring down his body as he and Zerg circled each other, eyes narrowed in dark intent as their claws curled and uncurled, blood mixing with the sweat. "But I ain't even half-done yet."

"Yeah, yeah, I ain't never heard THAT before." Zerg laughed, taking up a battle position. "Hit me with your best shot, tough-guy."

It was then that Nick suddenly landed in between the two of them, jumping down from a high-beam up above, his PAK legs shooting out and grabbing each of them by the shoulder, tossing them backwards as he rose up and grinned. "Sorry about that, but I like to make an entrance." He admitted as they quickly jumped back up. "If you want, you can both call a truce with each other and take me on alone." He commented calmly.

Neither of them seemed to notice that his PAK was off...or care. All that was going through their head was "KILL GREENIE".

"That's the way ya want it, that's the way yer gonna get it, kid!" Zerg hissed, extending her claws fully and circling around Nick as Loc held up his own claws, licking his lips.

"I'm gonna tear ya into so many pieces, boy. I'm gonna give ya a real whuppin'." Loc promised Nick as Nick reached up to his communications chip and fiddled with it slightly.

**BGM: Let it Rock, by Kevin Rudolf and Lil' Wayne**

Nick tapped his foot on the ground as he calmly smiled at the two of them. "Well? Go ahead." He called out.

They rushed forward, but Nick leapt through the air, spiraling around. As Loc and Zerg swiped and sliced at him, he smoothly dodged, sliding and spinning around to avoid their attacks.

_**I see your dirty face  
High behind your collar,  
What is done in vain  
Truth is hard to swallow!  
So you pray to God  
To justify the way you live a lie,  
Live a lie,  
Live a lie!**_

Nick pointed upwards in a dramatic fashion as he bounced his butt to the rhythm of the song he was singing, making Loc and Zerg give him a confused look.

_**And you taaaake yoooour tiiiiime  
And you dooooo yooooour criiiime  
Well you maaaaade yooooour beeeeed  
I made miiiiiiine!**_

Nick now moved his body in a rhythmic motion, dancing on the spot as he broadly grinned, singing passionately.

_**Because when I arrive  
I, I'll bring the fire!  
Make you come alive,  
I can take you higher!  
What this saints forgot...  
I must now remind you,  
Let It Rock,  
Let It Rock,  
Let It Rock!**_

"I hate anybody that talks more than me." Loc snapped, rushing forward and slicing at Nick, who cartwheeled to the side, then jumped upwards, tossing something through the air. It struck Loc in the leg and he found his right leg paralyzed with a sudden harsh THWOOOMBA sound as numbness spread up through his body. He fell to the ground, gasping as Nick looked over at Zerg, continuing to dance.

_**Now the son's disgraced,  
He, who knew his father!  
And he cursed his name  
Turned, and chased the dollar!  
But it broke his heart,  
So he stuck his middle finger  
To the world,  
To the world,  
To the world!**_

_**And you taaaaake yooooour tiiiiime  
And you staaaaand iiiiin liiiiine  
Well you'll geeeeet whaaaaat's yooooours  
I got miiiiiiine!**_

_**Because when I arrive  
I, I'll bring the fire!  
Make you come alive,  
I can take you higher!  
What this saints forgot...  
I must now remind you,  
Let It Rock,  
Let It Rock,  
Let It Rock!**_

"You're not throwing me off my game." Zerg hissed. "I won't fall for your tricks?"

"Tricks nothing!" Nick laughed. "I just enjoy doing this sort of thing! You've no idea how much fun it is to just let loose! This is how people ought to let off steam instead of, oh, I dunno, ripping their opponent's organs out and eating them like that disgusting transvestite does."

Zerg snapped her fingers as Loc's guns rose up into the air and hovered around in the air. "Hey, what happened to no guns?" Nick asked.

"Technically only LOC agreed to no guns. Not me." Zerg commented with a wry grin.

Nick quickly spun around and dodged, dipping and diving to avoid the oncoming blasts from the guns as Zerg fired them off over and over, the guns circling around her like a kind of sick halo. He finally jumped upwards through the air, then his PAK legs extended, and he launched himself through the air, knocking one PAK leg into Zerg, sending her flying into a nearby column. She hit it with a CRUNKA-CHUNK and was knocked unconscious as Nick grinned and shook his butt in celebration.

_**Because when I arrive  
I, I'll bring the fire!  
Make you come alive,  
I can take you higher!  
What this saints forgot...  
I must now remind you,  
Let It Rock,  
Let It Rock,  
Let It Rock!**_

_**Because when I arrive  
I, I'll bring the fire!  
Make you come alive,  
I can take you higher!  
What this saints forgot...  
I must now remind you,  
Let It Rock,  
Let It Rock,  
Let It Rock!**_

He ended by pointing upwards dramatically with both hands, grinning proudly before he calmly walked over to the fallen guns and walking over to the still-paralyzed Loc. "Here." He said, putting them back in Loc's belt.

"...why are you doing that?" He asked, with both of them unaware that another face, one who had quickly shooken off his OWN paralysis was staring at them both.

"I want this to be a fair fight." Nick insisted. "You deserve all the weapons you can for when we fight again. Look, I've got plenty."

Nick pulled something out of his shirt, showing off several guns that were shrunken down in size. "Sticking to the inside of my outfit. Press here and..." He pressed one of the guns and it unshrunk. "See?" He said. "But this one's not-"

Loc suddenly jumped up, grabbing it away and pointing it at Loc. "Yeah, not too smart, kid. Now y'all gonna die."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Nick said. "The aim is WAY off."

"For-real-real?" Loc asked, raising an invisible eyebrow, looking amused.

"Yeah. If you don't believe me, give it a try." Nick told him.

"Don't mind if I do." Loc commented.

SCHA-BUDDA-BUDDA-BUDDA!

Loc's form hit the ground, gasping as his consciousness faded out as Nick sighed and stood up, dusting himself off. "See? What possible use is there for a gun that shoots BACKWARDS?" He asked Loc's unconscious body, putting the gun back with the others.

THWA-BAAAAAM!

He was knocked to the ground, gasping as a black orb whizzed out from the shoulder it had shot through and over the ocean far away. He staggered back to his feet, looking over Zor who held his clawed hand up.

"You shouldn't have left me alive." Zor spoke softly, almost mournfully. "...it would have been smarter to just kill me."

THWA-BAAAAAM!

Another one tore into Nick's cheek and he gasped in pain, staggering back. "What is your problem? Why are you trying to kill me? I spared your life even though I could have just killed you and you repay me like THIS?" Nick asked, dodging a third ball attack.

"You wouldn't understand!" Zor insisted angrily. "You don't have anybody who's life is in danger on your end!"

"You should NEVER allow anybody to take advantage of you by taking a hostage! And you shouldn't harm innocent people just to free that hostage!" Nick yelled. "I saw the last Blood Sport season, you're doing this for Calico, aren't you?"

Zor's eyes narrowed and he rushed forward, but this time Nick was ready. He whipped out his Colt Anaconda and a round sizzled through Zor's right side, making him howl in pain.

"Cold metal is apparently very, very damaging to demons." Nick whispered. "And, well, you're half demon now. But I'm still giving you a chance to just go. I'll save Calico."

"How dare you talk down to me like this!" Zor snarled. "This is Blood Sport! You can't trust anybody here, it's stupid! People can't act the way you do!"

"Oh, and they should act like YOU did, not trusting in the goodness of others? **LOOK HOW THAT TURNED OUT!**" Nick screamed angrily back at Zor, tears springing into his eyes as Zor stood there, blinking a few times. "You died because you couldn't trust Domm when he offered to join forces with you! He showed sympathy towards you and wanted to spare your life, but you couldn't trust him, and that's what got you **killed**!" Nick roared. "It's better to live your life believing the best in people and to DIE that way!"

Nick held the gun up, though it was shaking madly. "I'd rather die that way than live a life doubting the goodness of people's lives! I'd rather die than believing that other people can't be trusted and their lives don't mean anything except as sacrifices for your own goals!"

That struck Zor hard. His eyes turned to dark slits. He rushed forward with almost impossible speed.

SLASH!

Nick was struck in the chest, flung backwards as all time seemed to go in slow motion for him. He could feel it...he'd been struck in the heart. As his lifeblood flowed out, thick and red from his body, showering Zor, he let out a long, pained gasp as his form flew over the platform to the area below.

"Wish granted." Zor hissed furiously as a CLANGING noise was heard, then a loud SPLASH. He panted heavily, his vycan/demon claws dripping with blood...

And then he fell to the platform, gasping. "What have I done...what...what have I done?" He whispered. "He didn't deserve that...He spared my life and I...what have I DONE?!" He sobbed, tears falling down heavily from his eyes as Loc and Zerg slowly rose back up, looking at the sobbing Irken, then looking over the edge of the platform, seeing the PAK of Nick floating in the water...

Then lightning split the sky and the entire Industrial zone was suddenly tossed into a "negative hue" as red became blue, white became black and dark energy crept over the land, bringing shadows all around. Gasping, Loc and Zerg stood by Zor as a dark being slowly descended from the darkening sky, red eyes glaring with dark intent, a malicious look of smug joy on his darkly-grinning face. Clawed hands calmly folded across his chest, filthy bat wings spread wide.

"**WHAT YOU'VE DONE...IS FINALLY ALLOW ME PASSAGE INTO THIS WORLD. MANY THANKS, MY DEAR CREATION."** Redeye commented cheerily.

"...you're...here..." Zor whispered, getting to his feet, shaking like a leaf.

"Who is this joker?" Loc asked.

**"I WOULD NOT TALK LIKE THAT IF I WERE YOU, LOC. I HAPPEN TO BE A GOD-LIKE BEING AND I'VE GOT A ****SHORT TEMPER****." **Redeye added, clenching his fists as a dark bolt of lightning formed in his hands and he shot it at Loc, who barely dodged in time as Zerg and Zor jumped away.

"Holy crap!" Zerg gasped in horror.

"What...is that thing?" Red whispered as he and Purple turned to Darth, who could feel the waves of malicious intent oozing out from Redeye even as they stared at the floating tele-vid screen, all of the people in the cafeteria on the edge of their seat, some gasping, others eyes wide with terror.

"...I...I don't know...and I don't think I _want_ to..." Darth murmured.

"What do you want?" Zerg demanded to know.

**"SIMPLE. I WANT TO DESTROY THE USELESS IRKEN RACE."** Redeye waved a hand in the air. **"IT IS IRONIC, IS IT NOT? VIOLENCE AND DESTRUCTION ARE THE WAY OF THE IRKEN RACE AND OF THE GALAXY ITSELF. YOU ALWAYS NEED TO KEEP TEARING DOWN IN ORDER TO BUILD, DON'T YOU?" **

"Why would you want to destroy it anyhow?!?" Loc snapped furiously.

**"SINCE WHEN DID A GOD EVER HAVE TO EXPLAIN ITSELF TO AN ANT?"** Redeye commented coldly, smirking.

"You said you were going to free Calico!" Zor demanded, angry tears springing to his eyes.

**"OH, I SHALL. I ****NEED**** HIM SO I CAN USE HIS POWER FOR THE PROCESS OF RECREATING THE IRKEN RACE. HE SHALL BE THE RECREATION, JUST AS I SHALL BE THE DESTRUCTION."** Redeye informed him, spreading his wings wide.

"You've no right to decide everyone in the galaxy gets to die! We want to live! All of us do!" Erin yelled out at the screen.

**"I CAN ****HEAR**** YOU, ERIN NIGHTSHADE."** Redeye remarked, looking in the direction of the space station, making Erin gasp as the camera drone that was taking in the whole scene moved back as if in fear. **"AND I DON'T REALLY CARE WHAT YOU THINK OR WHAT ANYBODY ELSE THINKS. I'LL DO WHATEVER I PLEASE AND I DON'T HAVE TO EXPLAIN MY MOTIVES. YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR MIND IF YOU THINK YOU CAN FIGHT ME."**

"I did this." Zor whispered, looking down at his hands. "**I **did this..."

"No, HE did this!" Zerg insisted. "C'mon, we'll need your help to defeat him!"

"I can't change my future..." Zor murmured. "I'm his creation...he can do what he wants to me..."

"You can't change your PAST!" A familiar voice called out. An VERY familiar one. "Go ahead! Let Redeye get away with this! Be somebody else's puppet! You've done it all your life, _it's what you're GOOD at!_" The voice roared out.

There, hovering down from the sky on the rocket engines from his PAK, antennae being blown around slightly by the wind was a certain communications officer. He landed near them, standing up heroically, eyes glittering with passionate desire as he faced down everyone.

"You're...**ALIVE**?" Loc gasped.

Nick turned around and showed off his lack of PAK. It had been knocked off of him as he'd plummeted down to the sea. His body had bounced off the cliff, hard, forcing the PAK off of him...and allowing him to heal. He calmly put it back on, winced slightly, then turned back to Zor. "Well?" He asked.

"..." Zor was quiet for a little while.

"**Well**?" Nick demanded.

"...I fight." Zor decided, standing and turning against Redeye.

"**YOU'RE TRYING TO OPPOSE ME? YOUR FATHER?"** Redeye growled angrily.

"You might have created me...but you were NEVER my father." Zor snapped furiously

slamming his palm into his fist. "You've been screwing around with me for a long time...now it's **MY** turn!" He roared out.

"**WELL, YOU'RE GOING TO PLAY IT LIKE ****THAT****, EH?"** Redeye folded his arms**. "I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE HOW WELL I COULD DO AGAINST ALL OF YOU CONSIDERING THE...PARTICULARS...OF MY POWERS...BUT THAT'S FINE. BECAUSE WHILE ****I**** MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO THINK OF A PARTICULAR PUNISHMENT FOR ALL OF YOU TO ENDURE, I'M SURE ****YOU**** COULD!"** He laughed.

POOF-POOF-POOF! Loc, Zerg and Zor all promptly vanished as Nick gasped. "What did you do to them?!" He demanded.

**"THEY'RE DEALING WITH THEIR OWN INNER DEMONS RIGHT NOW."** Redeye commented calmly.

"_Why_...are you doing this." Nick whispered darkly.

**"I DO NOT HAVE TO TELL YOU."**

"Yeah, you kinda **DO**, tall dark and spooky! It's the duty of a person to demand the reason WHY out of life, to question! That is one of our sacred charges! We're supposed to look out for each other and ask WHY there should be a need to harm other beings just to get what we want! Can't you find happiness by not hurting other people? If not, then you are **FUCKED UP!**" Nick yelled furiously.

**"WELL BLAME THE TALLEST FOR THAT. FOR BEFORE I WAS REDEYE...I WAS...THIS CHILD!"** He roared out, snapping his fingers as a small, purple-eyed, entirely featureless child appeared. He had delicate-looking purple eyes and was panting, clearly malnourished. Red and Purple nervously looked down in shame.

"That's the "Calico" that Zor was worried over, wasn't it?" Erin asked Red.

"We were frightened of him!" Red protested. "We didn't understand what he was and it scared us, so..."

"Wait a minute. If you hate Red and Purple for tossing you into a jail all those years ago, why are you trying to destroy all of Irkenkind? Yes it's inexcusable to harm millions and billions of people, yes it's wrong to blow up planets or enslave them, yes it was wrong to lock you away in a jail, but those were all done on the order of the Tallest and the Control Brains, who determine what goes into an Irken's PAK! Most of the Irken race are spoiled children who don't KNOW any better, and they're only JUST beginning to question whether the Empire is right or wrong! You can't punish an entire race for something only a few did!"

**"BUT THEY DID NOTHING TO ****STOP**** THEM!" **Redeye hissed angrily as Calico just blinked, hovering in the air near his future self.

"Some of us HAVE been!" Darth yelled furiously.

"And the a good deal of the rest of them didn't HELP!" Purple added.

"Wait a tick. Wait a tick. You hate the Irken race because they're allegedly Mass-Murdering monsters, but you ALLOWED Zor, your "child", to enter a competition revolving around murdering other people as a public spectacle! And you advocated him killing other people! Innocent ones at that! You claim you're "better" than the Irken race but aren't you acting just as screwed up as they are in willing to kill others to get what you want?" Erin spoke up suddenly.

"You could have just been HONEST with Zor about what you wanted and then had him break Calico out WITHOUT killing anybody! Nobody would have had to be hurt! You're just doing this because you're pissed!" Nick protested.

**"SO IT'S ****MY**** FAULT I ENDED UP EVIL, IMPRISONED FOR THREE YEARS BY PEOPLE WHO CHEAT, KILL, STEAL, GORGE ON SNACKY CAKES AND BLOW UP THINGS THEIR ENTIRE LIVES?" **Redeye commented coldly.

"Yes! Not everybody is WEAK!" Nick roared back at him. "For a so-called God, you sure gave in awfully easy!"

BAAAAAAAAAAAM! Nick was launched through the air by a compressed bullet of darkened flame as Redeye teleported Calico away to the cafeteria, right in Dr. Nimbus's lap, who blinked as he looked down at him.

"How do you get your skin like that?" He asked.

"I was born."

"_Ah_."

Meanwhile, Zor was placed on a railing somewhere in a dark factory as paint began to slowly peel off the walls, a burning hot flame rising up from the center of said factory. "What the heck?" He muttered.

"Well, well, I was wondering when I'd show up!" A voice spoke up.

Zor turned around, gasping at the sight of...HIMSELF. He was staring down an utterly Vycan version of him, claws curled, a nasty, pitiless smile on his features as dark green eyes glinted with malevolence. "How nice to see me. But you know, I've looked inside myself, and I see you there. And...well...I don't LIKE what I see." The Otherself commented calmly.

"Yeah, well, you should know I've always been kind of hard on myself!" Zor said, slamming his fist into the Otherself, launching him backwards. But the Otherself simply smirked as he removed himself from the wall, cracking his knuckles.

"You've got me confused with the original, brat. I'm the SEQUEL. I'm much, much more powerful than you!" He laughed, holding his clawed hands up as black balls swirled around him and began beating the crap out of Zor, slamming into him over and over as the Otherself laughed.

And what of Loc? Well, that poor schmuck was now walking around a dense jungle, scratching his head. "Where the hell am I? I gotta get the hell outta this country..." He muttered.

"Prepare thyself, you mockery of the gangster culture! Prepare to face the wrath of your Otherself!" A being spoke up. Loc turned around, gasping at the sight of...HIMSELF. He was now staring down a pure white being with glasses over his eyes, a fine-looking coat, and a large spear strapped to his back. He had circlets around his wrists and carried himself in a very refined way...but it was him, alright. The same eyes...same smile...same face...

"How can you be anything like me?" Loc demanded to know.

"I am the part of your that's cultured, intelligent, and moral. In other words, what you are quite happy to ignore."

"Oh, shut up!" Loc snapped, reaching for his...

Uhoh. "...where the fuck's mah heatahs?" He demanded to know.

His Otherself held his coat out, showing off the insides...revealing Loc's guns. "Awwww shit." Loc moaned as his Otherself raised the spear up and Loc ran for his life through the jungle.

"Thou cannot escape me, my inferior self! Here I am in control! I am faster! Stronger!"

"UGLIER!" Loc roared back.

And of course, Zerg too was facing down her Otherself. She was not scared, no. A bit...unnerved though. Her Otherself was calmly sitting at a dinner table, hands folded neatly on the mahogany top. "Are you supposed to scare me?" Zerg asked. Her Otherself looked far-too-much like her, only the Marfan's Syndrome was non-existent. She stood proudly in her chair, a normal PAK upon her back, her eyes a gentle, but chilling gold, a delicate white dress on her body. She looked like she should be at a wedding.

"Come! Sit! Stay for dinner. You'll have to take your shoes off though." Her Otherself said in a very girlish timbre. "We're having Chinese food, you see. Last night was Hungarian and so I had to take off my-"

"No, I think I'll stand." Zerg snapped.

"Ah, all "little miss lonely", eh? Come on, though. Kind of hard to measure up to the standards you've imposed on yourself, isn't it?" Her Otherself wanted to know. "I mean...you've got so many physical flaws...so many people think you're freak. Doesn't that make you feel insignificant? Inadequate?..._small_?" She whispered.

"...yeah...but..." Zerg mumbled.

"And what do you think you bring to the table? Your TK powers can barely lift a fork, you can barely figure out what's going on in your OWN mind, let alone other people...what do you have going for you? The shoulder spikes?" Her Otherself laughed.

"That's all I have to do then...isn't it? I mean, somebody's making all that's in my head REAL, but I'M the one making all of this. MY thoughts are writing the rules. So if I just think hard enough...then..."

She reached out to her right as a small little black portal opened up. Zor groaned as his Otherself cackled nearby, head held back with laughter...it didn't' look good for him.

Then he noticed the hand reaching out from the portal, the one with long claws. "Tag me!"

"...okaaaay..." He murmured.

TAP!

THWOOOOMP!

"YOU?!?" Zor's Otherself gasped as Zerg appeared, replacing Zor.

"Yeah, and you know what? I'm not as nice as Zor is."

SCHA-WHUUUULP! She struck the Otherself through his stomach and pulled outward, dragging squeedlyspooch with it as she kicked the Otherself's body back, knocking him to the ground and tossing the guts on his form. "Here. It wouldn't match my living room decorations." She commented cheerily.

Meanwhile, Loc was up against a tree, about to become shish-kebab.

"I shall slice you up like a ham!" His Otherself said proudly, holding the spear high.

"Loc, tag me!" Zor's voice called out as his hand suddenly popped out from a nearby portal. Loc blinked, but tapped it.

TAP!

THWOOOOMP

Loc's Otherself blinked at the sight of Zor standing there, arms folded, black orbs circling around him. "Hello."

"Eep."

BUDDA-BUDDA-BUDDA! And he went dooooown! Zerg appeared from a portal nearby, nodding at Zor. "Well, I took care of YOUR inner demon and you took care of Loc, so that means that..."

"AAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHH! HEEEEEEEELLLPPPP!!!" A shout could be heard from a nearby portal. **"HE'S RAPING ME LIKE I'M THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE!"**

"...let's leave him alone for...ten minutes." Zerg decided, giving the portal a look of disgust as Zor felt the bile rise in his throat.

...

...

...

... "Should we check in on my sister again?" Dib wanted to know.

"Good idea, good idea." Tjazz commented, as her pet flipped on the microphone system back to the Green Room. "Gaz? You there?"

"I know what you're doing! I figured it out! It isn't FUNNY! I will plunge you into a nightmare world from which there is no awakening for this!" Gaz swore furiously, shaking her fists in the air.

"Gaz, come on, we wouldn't do that sort of thing." Tjazz insisted as Dib covered his mouth, surpressing giggles.

"I'VE GOT SHARP NAILS!" Gaz screeched. "I'll rip up your leather couch, I'll DO it, I SWEAR!"

"Gazzy, we've just been having trouble firming up a time for the locksmith." Tjazz told her.

"Don't gimme that crap! I'm doing it!" Gaz snarled, jumping on the couch and beginning to rip it to shreds, pulling off big chunks of it.

"Woah. Listen to that, she's goin' nuts!" Tjazz remarked.

"That's ___**Naugahyde**_, right?" Dib inquired.

"Yeah, naugahyde." Tjazz told him.

"I've got a fire extinguisher in here and I'll USE it!" Gaz roared out, ripping it out of the containment capsule on the wall and spraying it all over the walls with a FWOOOOSSHH sound, coughing slightly as some of it sprayed backwards at her. She then ran over to a nearby plant. "HA! I'm ripping the leaves of your ficus!"

"But I LOVED that ficus!" GIR spoke up, suddenly appearing in the recording room with Dib, the jelly spore and Tjazz.

"Yeah, I know, it was a gift from my agent." Tjazz added sadly.

"GRAAAAAAAHHHH!!!" Gaz roared.

BANG! CRASH!

"She is TRASHING the place." Dib remarked.

BRA-KRUNK!

"Was that a chair?" GIR asked.

KRA-THUNKA!

"Nope, nope THAT was the chair." Tjazz told them all.

"EEE-YAAAAAH!"

THRA-BOOOOM!

"GUUUAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!"

"...well, that was Gazlene Membrane, ladies and gentlemen, our guest for today, and...who knows?" Tjazz shrugged. "Maybe tomorrow."

Elsewhere, Darth was gently sitting by Jana's mental form, his own mental form caressing her back. "Are you alright?"

"..." She stayed quiet.

"...it hurt, I know. But it's a necessary hurt. Sometimes you have to hurt before you truly feel." Darth informed her.

"...I don't deserve to go back. Not after all I've done." She mumbled.

But that made the blind Irken smile. He gently wrapped his arms around her, holding her in a kind hug, and before she knew it, she was deposited back in her own body, looking up at the others surrounding her.

"Have a nice nap?" Zim asked coldly.

"...Zim...I..." She began.

"Save it. Now's not the time. We need to do something about Nexus." Trik spoke up, most of his body now in a full cast. All you could see was one eye and his mouth.

"Indeed. I'd been sensing spiritual disturbances around him. And I know what the cause is." Nora spoke up proudly.

"You're...alright with your daughter talking like this?" Jana asked May.

"Don't be too surprised!" Nora insisted happily. "I'm REAAAALLY powerful. It runs in the family. Dormant for a while, but not anymore! Thanks to my psychic absorbtion abilities and access to some of the best minds in the galaxy right HERE..." She gestured around the entire area. "I've got the whole of Irken, human and Vortian knowledge running through my brain!" She said, tapping her head. "I've learned the weaknesses, physical and spiritual, of every being on this space station. This INCLUDES Nexus."

"It's like she's got a tie to the Eternal himself." Darth informed Jana.

"So how are we going to destroy Nexus exactly?" Red wanted to know.

Nora floated to May's shoulder, grinning broadly. "It's simple. Nexus's power is centered around the gem he keeps on his chest. We break that into itty-bitty pieces and it's like removing a feeding tube from-"

"Don't go there." Everyone else said.

"Sorry. But see? The Fourth Wall's now becoming more and more available to you all. This is a sign that we're near the end! It's all coming to a close. We're on the right track. A good CRA-KRACK to that crystal and Nexus is as helpless as a baby!...but, y'know..." Nora shrugged. "Not MY kind of "like a baby". Another baby. A normal baby."

"Okay, so we just break the crystal gem on his chest." Frequency spoke up. "But what about Nick?"

"He'll be fine." Purple insisted. "How much trouble can he get into down there?"

...

...

...

... "...Nick..." Zerg gasped.

"...you damn fool..." Loc murmured.

"..._no_." Zor whispered.

Nick had been impaled through the chest and the PAK, and his form was now kneeling on the platform they'd all returned to. His red blood pooled out from underneath him, his mouth open slightly, stuck in a state of limbo as his PAK fizzled and sparkled, now permanently damaged. He could not fully heal...but he could not fully die either.

**"NOW...WHERE ****WAS**** I?"** Redeye remarked coldly, a pitiless grin stretching over his features.

**TO BE CONTINUED! DUM-DUM-DUUUUUUM!**


	14. A Single Volume Bound by Love

_All characters belong to their respective owners. Remember that now.

* * *

_

_**BLOOD SPORT: FINAL ROUND.**_

_

* * *

FIGHT!

* * *

_

_When I look around at the circumstances that surround us, I worry that there's nothing that can be done to stop the evilness of the Empire. I worry that our kind will always be ruled by selfish desire and will continue to put the well-being of themselves about the very lives of billions of innocent others. I worry that I helped contribute to all of this...I was a Consular, an interrogator for years, and I was also an Invader. I worry that nothing can be done._

_Then I think of Nick. And yes, he is incredibly naïve in many ways. But he tries so damn hard to be a force of good and to never lose sight of his morals. He always tries to do what's right despite how hard things get for him. And this makes me proud to call him my friend. Within him I see the potential that the Irken race can reach. _

_And I'll be damned if I let him go down before I do._

Nick found himself floating in a white abyss, blinking a few times as he looked around the blankness that surrounded him. Just where was he? It couldn't have been Heaven or Hell. He wasn't dead. If he'd died, he would have ended up back on Earth. And he clearly wasn't alive, because otherwise he would have been with the others back at the Industrial Zone on the planet Blood Sport was taking place on.

So...where was he? What was this place?

It was then that he could hear somebody speaking. A familiar voice, smooth and soft...he turned his head to see a pair of irises emerging from the whiteness, followed by a head, then a neck, then a body clothed in white robes with a silver belt. A necklace with a green orb in the center around his neck, a gentle look upon his face...Darth, Hierophant, clasped his hands together and nodded firmly.

"Nick." He said simply. "It was quite the pain to go through the Astral Plane to find you...so many doorways to get lost in...but I know your soul's trace anywhere."

"Where am I?" Nick wanted to know, blinking in surprise.

"You are in Limbo." Darth explained calmly, holding one palm up. "Not quite dead, not quite alive...and I'm afraid the others are not doing so well." He snapped his fingers, and a large, shimmering mirror appeared. Nick turned to look at the mirror as it showed Loc desperately firing off his guns at the hulking demon Redeye, Zerg pinned to the steel platform by Redeye's claws, and Zor shaking Nick's body, desperately trying to get him to "wake up".

"Loc's trying...he really is, but it's like trying to knock down a truck with a pea shooter." Nick mumbled sadly, shaking his head. "...I've got to do something." He stated, slamming his fist into his palm. "But how? As long as my PAK is damaged like that..."

"Well, that's it, isn't it? The rules have changed since this competition started...anything goes. You know what must be done...don't you?" The blind Irken asked softly, folding his arms.

Nick looked the scene in the mirror over as Redeye tossed Zerg into Loc and they collided with a wall, Redeye laughing sadistically as Zor looked on in horror. "...yeah, I know."

He took a deep breath as Darth vanished from sight. "ZOR!" He yelled out as loud as he could. Zor's head shot up, he could hear, he could _hear_ Nick in his...not his head so much as his soul.

"What?" He whispered.

"Destroy my PAK! DO IT! **NOW**!" Nick roared out.

Zor raised his clawed hand up high, and then slammed it into the PAK as Redeye held his clawed hands up, and dark red energy began to swirl around them, forming circular balls of energy as black lightning rippled through them. A great, nasty grin spread over his face as his wings spread out wide.

**"I GROW WEARY OF THIS SPORT." **HE announced. **"I SHALL END THIS!"**

He raised his hands up high over his head as the circular balls of pulsing energy swirled around and around like bolos, and he prepared to launch them at the threesome on the platform...

Wait...threesome?

Suddenly he was surprised as a brown-haired, hazel-eyed human rushed through the air, a swirling rainbow aura surrounding him as he sang out with a very familiar voice. "_**Love Boat! Exciting and New! EVERYBODY NOW!**_" He laughed, a tie-dye sparkling in the light as he kicked Redeye in the head. The bolo vanished as Redeye went flying through the air, gasping in pain.

"I don't believe it. You put one over on us?" Loc asked, blinking in surprise as Zerg and Zor looked on in surprise.

"No, I really was "stuck". Thanks, Zor!" Nick said, flying over to the others as he lowered his watch-covered arm, pressing a button on it and turning off a heroic-sounding tune. "Unfortunately, I'm kind of stuck like this until I get killed off, but then I'll be back to being an Irken again. Until that happens, I'll make the most of this ability I have." He said, holding his hand up and clenching it into a fist. "It's a little gift called "Magic Music". My PAK was channeling it, allowing me to heal constantly. A radio wave inside it was always playing songs related to healing, you see."

"So THAT'S how you keep on healing." Zerg realized. "Alright, I understand." She said, nodding. "Now what?"

"Now..." Nick turned to look over at Redeye and grinned. "Now we kick ass and take names!" He stated, slamming his fist into his palm.

**"YOU...OUGHT NOT...TO HAVE DONE THAT!"** Redeye hissed as he opened up his mouth, and swirling red energy began to collect in front of it, forming an enormous orb. He was about to launch a power beam at them!

"_**Something is missing, Mr. Big!**_" Nick sang out, clenching his fists as he jumped forward, and his entire body suddenly swelled to ENORMOUS proportions, his arms and legs stretching out, his head bulging...soon his entire form was gigantic, and he towered above the others, reaching Redeye's height. With a swift kick, he knocked Redeye back again, then leapt forward and grabbed Redeye's head, dunking him under the water.

**"GLLUUUAAAAHHHH!"** Redeye gasped, his skin sizzling with pain as Nick lifted him up.

"Ohhh, does your demon self not like SALT WATER?" Nick asked, grinning darkly. "C'mon, you'll learn how to hold your breath underwater eventually! Let's try for THREE minutes this time!"

He dunked Redeye's head once again as Loc suddenly got an idea. "Hey, one of his friends is a preacher man. We gotta get him here, NOW." He told the others. "Any one of y'all got any two way alert that'll reach up ta the station?" He wanted to know, raising an invisible eyebrow.

Zerg held up a small walkie-talkie and smirked. "Yes, yes, I am amazing." She commented cheerily.

...

...

...

...Darth got the message and put down the communicator, turning to Michael White and Frequency, who folded their arms. "They need me down there. Apparently they want to put some plan into place and they need me for it." He informed them as Red and Purple stood by Erin and May, Nora sitting with her brothers on a nearby couch in the lounge they all stood in.

"We'll split up into teams then. Darth, you and I will go with Frequency down to the planet to help. Chief R, Pur, Erin, May, you go find Zim, Dib, Gaz, GIR, MIMI and Tak. Get them to get all the competitors we can together and then head after Nexus with Nora. This ends today, one way or another." White said, nodding firmly.

Darth nodded, but Erin suddenly spoke up. "Darth...listen." She spoke quietly. "I...I want you to be careful. Don't get killed down there."

"I won't." Darth told her, walking over in her direction. She took his hands and guided them up to his cheeks, and he kissed her on the forehead as Jana stood in the doorway, leaning against it and smiling slightly. "I promise I'll come back."

White nodded as Darth and he walked over to Frequency. The experiment and the blind Irken grabbed ahold of White as he held up his fists, which glowed with pink chaos energy. And then...BLINK! They were gone, teleported down to the planet as Erin turned to Red and Purple and the others. "Let's get going." She said, nodding firmly.

They headed out into the hallway, rushing as fast as they could. "We gotta get to the cafeteria." She said. "Let's cut through the laboratories, it'll be faster." She added.

They made a quick right turn into the laboratory, rushing past several large containers and computer consoles...noticing that there was a certain Irken with one hand placed upon a tube nearby, which was filled with some kind of brightly glowing blue liquid.

A blue cloaked outfit with black –clothed arms and legs and antennae that were so long, they almost reached the ground... a four-pointed black star tattoo upon his forehead...deep black/blue eyes...

"For years I was stuck in one of these. Stuck as they experimented on me." He murmured. "Experiment 130-20X, that was my designation. That's all I was to you. A number."

"We're SORRY, we...we didn't...we were different people back then. We...what we did was wrong." Red admitted.

"Yeah, we wanna make it up to you." Purple added to Caim. "What can we do to make this right?" He wanted to know.

"Oh? Really, you want to make this right? Good." Caim said happily. "How about you hold still and let me stab you in the eye?" He asked, holding his fist up as a dark blue aura swirled around him.

"...within REASON, what can we do to make this right." Purple muttered.

"Leave them alone." Erin said, stepping forward and holding her hands up as Red, Purple and Jana looked at her. "Don't hurt them."

"I DON'T hit girls." Caim said quietly. "Move out of the way." He asked.

"No. I'm sorry for what they did to you but revenge will not give you back what they took. Revenge has as much benefit for curing the soul as salt water does for curing thirst." Erin told him.

"He's right. I would know." Jana added.

"...you wouldn't...understand..." Caim whispered furiously, clenching his hands into fists. "I...for YEARS I was experimented on! They can't bring back all those years I was locked up! I need to do this!"

He rushed forward, hand held up. "I won't kill you, but I need you out fo the way!" He roared out.

BANG!

A PAK leg sent him flying backwards as Red jumped in front of Erin. "Erin, Jana, run. Pur and I will handle this." He insisted.

Erin protested. "You can't, he'll kill you!" She told him.

"Just trust me on this!" Red told her. "We'll be alright."

"But-"

Red took her cheeks and looked into her eyes deeply. "We'll be **alright**."

Erin looked into his eyes, looking like she was on the verge of saying something. But instead she listened to him, and she and Jana took off for the cafeteria with May and Nora, Bo and Ian following after.

"So it comes down to this then. I've been waiting for this...my chance at bringing you to justice." Caim told him.

"We're not afraid of you." Purple protested.

"You OUGHT to be." Caim whispered, his body becoming surrounded in the dark blue aura as he rushed forward. He slammed his fist into Red's body, knocking him through the air, but Purple suddenly jumped up, PAK legs sweeping out and catching him on the side of the head. With a THWUNK, Caim was knocked backwards through the air, and Purple rushed at him, slamming his fists into the blue-outfitted invader over and over.

Purple knocked Caim into a large computer console as Red used his PAK legs to lift up an enormous canister of strange liquid. He tossed it at Caim, whipping out a laser from the chest compartment he had and firing it off. With a TZZEEEW the bright orange beam struck the canister as it slammed into Caim and an enormous green-tinted explosion rippled through the lab. Red and Purple stepped backwards, thinking it was over.

Or...not.

Caim suddenly stepped out of the burning flames that rose up from the floor of the lab, his body protected by the aura, his eyes glowing brightly as he hovered off the floor, tiny little sparks rising from his body. He spread his arms out, and the sparks swirled forth, striking Red and Purple over and over, like tiny needles stinging into their flesh.

But it wasn't over yet. Caim rushed forward and with a sweeping kick, he knocked Red into Purple and they slammed into the wall as Caim held his clawed hands up, a swirling aura ball of energy forming.

"Normally I hate killing. But for you...I make an exception!" He roared out. He launched the ball at the space where Red and Purple were, and they barely jumped away in time.

"We SAID we were sorry!" Purple roared out, taking up a fighting stance as Red held his pistol up and fired it off in rapid succession. The shots whizzed through the air, and although Caim swerved to dodge them, one of them knicked him in the side and he gasped in pain, holding it. Frowning darkly, he rose back up as dark green Irken blood oozed down.

"This could take a while." Red muttered.

...

...

...

...Nick was knocked through the air by a harsh punch as Redeye's fists glowed with dark lightning-burst-filled energy. The demon spread it's mighty wings wide and rushed around and around Nick, as the ocean began to whip around him and Nick was caught in a spiraling tornado of water and wind, with Redeye laughing horribly all the while.

"_Normally I LOVE the wind."_ Nick thought to himself as he was lifted high up into the air, coming down with an enormous CRA-SPLOOOOOSH into the sea as Redeye sneered and then kicked Nick in the side.

"Where the hell are those guys?" Zerg wanted to know, looking left and right, trying to see where their requested help was.

"They oughta have been here by now." Loc agreed, putting a cigarette in his mouth and lighting it up as Nick's cries of "OW-OW-OW-OW" rippled through the air.

"Oooooch." Zor commented, seeing Nick's pain. "I don't think that's the human body is meant to be bent like that."

**"IT'S A GUTSY MOVE YOU PULLED, HUMAN, BUT IT WOULDN'T HAVE WORKED AGAINST ME. YOU DIDN'T REALLY STAND ANY CHANCE."  
**  
"I had no idea head could bend that way. Or that many times. Or that quickly." Nick squeaked out.

**"I'M SURPRISED TOO. YOU'RE STILL TALKING AND YOUR HEAD IS ACTUALLY FACING THE WRONG WAY."  
**  
"So THAT'S why it feels like my neck's on fire!" Nick remarked.

"**IT'S ACTUALLY A TESTAMENT TO MY AMAZING POWER THAT I'M TALKING TO YOU RIGHT NOW AND YOU CAN UTTERLY UNDERSTAND EXACTLY HOW MUCH I'M ENJOYING CUTTING INTO YOUR FLESH WITH MY CLAWS."** Redeye stated calmly. "**YOU ACTUALLY THOUGHT THAT A COUPLE ROUNDS OF "HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT" WAS GOING TO DEFEAT ME? ****I'M A FUCKIN' DEMON!****" **

BLINK!

It was then that Darth appeared, with White and Frequency standing by his side. Holding up his palm, a bright blast of energy knocked Redeye through the air as Zerg grabbed ahold of Darth's shoulder, turning him to make him look in her direction as Frequency jumped onto the ocean waves, riding alongside them as Nick, returning back to Irken form, fell through the air towards certain death...only to have the wave-riding Frequency jump up and catch him.

As the blue-furred experiment began surfing back to the others, Zerg shook Darth. "Bless the ocean!" She demanded.

"Huh?"

"DO IT, GODDAMMIT!" She snapped.

Frequency placed Nick on the ground and Nick panted heavily as he turned to look at Darth, who was now facing the ocean, spreading his arms wide as he recited a prayer.

_When I look around at the circumstances that surround us, I worry that there's nothing that can be done, that the Irken race will always be filled with selfish children and evil, amoral monsters. I worry that Irkens will never ever care about any race that's not their own and that sometimes humans act just as terrible as the Irken race. I worry that I can never do enough to help enough people. I worry that ultimately, nobody can change the way a race is and that the Irkens won't let themselves be held to the standards of justice._

_But then I look at Darth. Dearest Darithil. Born blind. Mocked. They thought he was going to get killed off the first week in training. Then he exceeded everyone's expectations and him being blind became a moot point. He could have coasted on his success, but instead he saw the light...he put all his talents into preaching a gospel of kindness, forgiveness and good works. I look at him and I'm proud to call him my friend. Within him I see the potential that the Irken race can reach. _

_And if he can do the job, I've nothing to complain about. _

Redeye snarled furiously as Darth finished the prayer, and he rushed forward at the Blind Irken, who held up his hand. Instantly an enormous, large chunk of industrial columns flew forward and slammed into Redeye's gut, knocking him back and into the ocean...

Which was now "holy". He gasped and screamed in pain as burning hot waves struck him over and over, tearing at his very essence as Loc blinked.

"How the hell?"

"He said it himself. "I'm a fuckin' demon"." Zor told Loc. "When what's diabolical strikes against an instrument of God, the Holy side is gonna do the most damage. And since that preacher just blessed the ocean..." Zor nodded over at Darth, who nodded firmly over at Zor.

"Time to end things. White, I need you to erect a shield around the others while I finish this. I'm probably going to die again, but..." Nick shrugged.

"Woah-woah. You don't give ME orders, Captain Hallmark." White told him, jabbing a finger into his chest.

"I do when other people's lives are at stake." Nick said firmly.

"Oh, I do find it entertaining when you play the "good of the innocent" card. Nobody does it quite like you." White laughed. "You sure you'd never considered a position as the Tallest?"

"They wear a dress. An obvious dress." Nick stated as he walked over to Darth and pulled out his Colt Anacondas. "Bless these two...then launch me at him, blue britches." He added, turning to Frequency.

Darth made a gesture of blessing over the guns and Nick cocked the hammers back. Frequency picked Nick up in the air, hurling him towards the thrashing and snarling Redeye, and the communications officer aimed his gun forth at the howling demon.

"In the words of my generation...**SNOOTH TO THE MOTHERFUCKIN' NOOOOTCH!**" He laughed out loud.

BUDDA-BANG!

White held his hands up and a glowing, dome-shaped pink shield popped up around him and the others just as Redeye was consumed in an enormous explosion of bright red and yellow light. Nick was instantly obliterated once again, his fading body flying backwards through the air...

And he landed by the dome with a shrunken, tiny, baby-like little black thing, transformed back into his Irken form. Nick looked at the shrunken baby-thing as White lowered the shield, Zor picking the small thing up in his hands.

"Redeye's been turned into...a BABY?" He asked, surprised.

"Maybe you oughta just squish 'im." Loc muttered.

"I won't sink to his level." Zor insisted, holding him in his...

He gasped. His body...it was transformed back to normal! He no longer had any Vycan features...he was pure once again! Giving the small, tiny Redeye over to Frequency, Zor leapt in the air, jumping for joy. "Woopee! Hooraaaaay!" He cheered.

"It's time to get going guys." Nick told the others. "One way or another, this ends today."

...

...

...

...Red and Purple panted as Caim lowered himself down through the air, his body pulsing with energy. "It's no good." He told them. "My desire to make you see justice is infinite. And this is what drives aura, the shining light of the heart...the power of emotion!"

He shot one hand forward at Red and knocked him to the wall, cutting into his flesh with his aura powers, eyes glittering as Nexus calmly emerged from a nearby doorway, looking amused.

"NEXUS." Purple snarled. "I should have known you'd do be supporting this! Come to watch him finish us off?"

"Oh, I'd love to, but I need to make a stop at the cafeteria. I heard the pot roast is lovely. Perhaps it'll go well with an extra helping of DOOM?" He added with a big, shark-like grin, laughing horribly. "I'm going to nip that so-called uprising against me in the bud while I have the chance."

He waved his had dismissively at Caim. "Be sure to bring SOME part of their body back so I know you won. Preferably their head. You know, it lives on for about five more seconds or so, so let me know what they did in those last seconds."

"What else? Recording their last words?" Caim wanted to know.

A notebook whacked him in the face and he blinked a few times, holding it with his other hand as Nexus left. "Ta-ta!" The cycloptic Irken called out as Caim rolled his eyes, pocketed the notebook and concentrated again, curling his hand into a fist, the claw-like aura hand crushing into poor Red.

"That's ENOUGH!" Purple yelled, rushing at Caim and slashing at him with his claws. Caim held up his other hand and calmly blocked with a swift shield-shaped blast that knocked Purple back, but the tallest continued to rush forward. "Leave him ALONE! Leave him ALONE! YOU-LEAVE-HIM-ALONE!" He screamed.

"Shut up! I'm going to make you both answer for what you did."

"GAAAAH!" Purple roared as Caim launched him across the floor, blood dripping down from the top of his head as Caim hovered towards him and Red. "So, this is what the forces of evil send against good. No wonder we always succeed in the end." Caim said calmly, a buzzing ball of aura energy in his hand as he hovered the length of the laboratory, broken tile surrounding him.

Then he noticed something. Purple was...crying. He was now on his knees, gasping and sobbing, the tears falling freely. He'd always been the more emotional of the two, and now seeing somebody whom he'd not only grown up with but who he'd been as close to as a brother on the verge of dying...

"Please...stop...kill me, but don't...don't hurt him anymore." Purple begged. "Have some mercy. _Please_."

Caim blinked in surprise. He couldn't believe it. This was genuine, honest sorrow, coming off the violet Tallest in waves. He was...sorry? He was...

With that Caim's grasp on Red faded and he hovered down to the ground, looking mournful. "I...I was just about to do something as terrible as what you had done to me." He murmured. "...I can't forgive what you did, but...I'll just have to endure it." He sighed. "You want to start making it up to me? Everything you did? You want to make amends? Fine."

Purple helped Red up, hugging his dear friend tightly as Caim folded his arms. "Nexus needs to be stopped. And once that's done, I want to have a TALK with you." He added, frowning darkly. "I want a real...REALLY sincere apology."

"We will." Red said. "On our word as a Tallest, we swear."

...

...

...

...meanwhile, Nexus was surprised to find himself facing down a very, very large horde of angry Blood Sport competitors. Erin folded her arms as she and May stood by Loc, Zerg and Zor. Rub'akho and Ker San stood tall, two Vortian towers of power that were standing across from Dr. Nimbus and Vex, who nodded firmly at Myo. The winged Irken's cat was rubbing her head against a happy-looking GIR, as Zim stood up upon a table with Gaz sitting nearby, looking interested in seeing a big, bloody fight, whilst Dib and Tak nodded at each other before getting into battle poses. To the right were Tjazz and her jelly spore, who were positioned by Nixus and the very short Skoodge, who looked kind of psyched to be standing close to one so hot. Frequency was calmly twirling a gun around in his hand whilst White tossed a small, glowing pink ball of chaos energy up and down, a nasty grin on his face as Spring, Sue and Jana held up their respective weapons and Miki growled darkly at Nexus.

"Well-well. The gang's all here." Nexus commented. "I admit...I'm impressed you all want to try and fight me. But why? Because of Blood Sport alone? Because you were forced, one way or another, into this competition? Or is it something more selfish...you just hate me?" He inquired, rubbing his chin. "Or maybe you're being "noble"." He laughed.

"Keep talking. You're only making yourself look worse." Nick said as he and Darth stepped into the room with Red, Purple and Caim following behind as Nora nodded firmly over at them.

"That boy scout façade of yours really makes me sick. You're the single biggest threat to all Irkenkind, you...human." Nexus told him, looking disgusted. "Don't you see the model of perfection we have here, which I've contributed to?"

"Model...of perfection?" Nick asked.

"Yes, though it could use some work, I admit. It's not quite completed. The plan was simple...make all of the Empire better by getting rid of it's most annoyingly dangerous defectives, rebels and most outspoken critics. All of you here are either psychopaths, people who would object to what the Empire does, or are just plain useless to what I hope to accomplish. By getting you all out of the way time and time again with more and more Blood Sports, I'd ultimately be able to create an Empire nobody would be able to screw up." Nexus explained. "I did plan on getting YOU killed off too." He added, looking over at Red and Purple.

"I'm not surprised." Darth muttered.

"I was hoping Black and Jana would do my work for me, but if they didn't, I'd just have the ultimate "winner" of Blood Sport be given private access to the tallest...and all the resources they needed to kill them."

"Trying to make yourself out to be a benevolent benefactor when all you wanted was them DEAD?" Nick asked, frowning darkly.

"Oh, I'm the most benevolent being here. I know what's best for the Empire, it would fall apart without me helping it." Nexus calmly told them, placing one hand on his chest and speaking innocent. "I mean, look around at the PAK on your backs, the creation of the first Tallest, who's inner workings are mediated by the Control Brains and approved of by Red and Purple."

Purple frowned. "I don't know who approved of the PAK that went to YOU, Nexxy, cuz you've clearly lost your shit!" He shouted.

"Only specific foods that are high in sugar and energy can be consumed by our kind. Our food and drink are regulated to specific guidelines, we have only one kind of money, we have only one kind of home, people are given specific jobs and specific clothes to match them, there is no need for people to pick mates since we have the test tube method implemented in our hatcheries, with the conquering of all other planets in the galaxy we'll have peace for all beings under our rule, and with the Tallest as figures to look up to, standing high and proud and powerful, all other Irkens all feel humbled." Nexus went on calmly, speaking in a fashion that was almost magnanimous. "The moment a PAK is attached to the organic body and that first spark of life is sent into them...that's the first half of them becoming a full Irken. Then when all Irken knowledge is flooded into their minds, they are one with the laws of Irk completely."

"...so that's what does it..." Darth murmured. "...before they get that burst of knowledge, they're pretty much blank slates, but that spark of real life IS there...that free will is there...but when they receive all the knowledge of Irken kind, this means all of the laws and standards the Control Brains want them to follow get permanently burnt into them...and although some do resist, the point remains...you..."

His voice became low...with an edge. "You think it's GOOD that they take away free will?" He asked.

Nexus gave him a look. "Eh?"

"You took...away...free will!" He roared suddenly, clenching his fists. "They can't choose what to eat, where to live, who to love, what to do, can't fight back or resist or they'll be labeled defective and killed...you've taken away the very thing that makes life worth living! The right to choose! The Control Brains might as well be just murdering all those smeets the moment they put all of their rules and standards into the PAKs!" He snarled.

_"You take away free will, you take away the very thing that makes people HUMAN!"_ Nick roared out.

"It's all done for a great cause. To create a perfect society, and I'm contributing to that by eliminating the biggest threats to it, all of the worst of the defects and-"

"You don't get it. You're trying to create a perfect society but we are PEOPLE. People are not MEANT to be perfect! We make bad choices! We fuck up!" Nick admitted. "But we do the best we can and we learn from our mistakes and become better because of them! You can't have a utopia that doesn't allow people to choose the life they desire and you shouldn't FORCE choices on others either! How can you call yourself more advanced than my kind if you don't even understand the basic concept that everyone has the right to live and to choose?" He asked, folding his currently-human arms and frowning.

"I'm doing very important things to better the Irken race." Nexus snapped.

"No." "No."

Darth looked at Tallests Red and Purple, unseeing eyes widening in amazement.

"What you've done..." Red spoke up.

"It's evil." Purple finished.

"...well, well, well." Nexus whispered. "So...it's come to this, then? You're all clearly out of your minds! I might as well liberate you from your madness with death!" He said, clenching his fists as he rose up into the air, twirling his staff around rapidly as a golden/red aura surrounded him.

"GET HIM!" Nora yelled out, pointing upwards into the air.

"Kyaaaaaah!" Ker San tossed several light-blue tinted explosives through the air at Nexus as people jumped away to avoid getting caught in the blasts. Nexus jumped backwards through the air as the icy explosions completely covered the table he'd just been under. Rub'akho aimed a large blaster pistol and fired it off at Nexus, who spun his staff rapidly, knocking one of the explosive blasts through the air, knocking Ker San backwards as ice covered his body and he gasped in pain.

Nexus swerved through the air, slamming a leg into Miki, laughing horridly. "C'mon! Nice doggy! It's Thanksgiving Day, but only for special little puppies!"

THWACKA-THWACKA! He kept kicking her, launching her into Jana as she rushed forward to try and slice him down. "Play dead!" He laughed, holding up his staff as the tip began to shake rapidly, a dark energy beam forming. "BE DEAD!"

BA-BAAAAAM! An explosion knocked him through the air and away from them as Frequency lowered the enormous pulse rifle that Loc had given him. "Thanks!"

"Ain't no thang but a chicken wang."

"Uh, no offense dude, but don'tcha think Harlem's havin' withdrawal with you not being there?" Frequency inquired.

"Don't y'all think y'all should get back tah yer Pauly Shore impersonation?" Loc responded, making Frequency blush.

Nexus frowned darkly and sent a table flying through the air, slamming into Loc and Frequency as Miki moaned.

"Miki not feel good."

"If we don't do something, Miki's gonna feel a lot worse." Jana told him as Nexus grabbed ahold of Nixus and began slapping her.

"Naughty girl!" He announced evilly, slapping her again and again.

KA-BOOOOOM! A blast to the back sent him flying as Vex lowered his pistol and ran over to Nixus, as Dr. Nimbus looked disgustedly at Nexus.

"Did you just PIMP-SLAP her? You DID! You freakin' **PIMP-SLAPPED** her!" He stated, giving Nexus as nasty look as he held up some surgical tools, pinning Nexus below his legs, straddling him. "I can't wait to examine your brain. No doubt I'll find some interesting abnormalities..."

Nexus kicked him in the crotch, knocking him away as a jelly spore suddenly attached itself to his face. "GAAAH! Get him off me, get him off me!" He screamed.

"Sure." Tjazz said,whistling. The jelly spore sloughed off his face, down his chest...

And ripped the crystal off. Snarling furiously, Nexus kicked the poor thing through the air as Dib, propelled by Tak, jumped up and caught it. Nexus rushed at the crystal gem that had been on his chest as it skittered across the floor, only to have Sue jump at him, scratching and clawing.

"Sue, no, what do you think you're doing?!" Nick yelled.

"Something I should have done a while ago...actually help you out!" She yelled, punching Nexus in the face over and over with a THRUCK-THRUCK-THRUCK resounding through the air as fist met face.

Nexus suddenly backhanded her viciously and she flew through the air, hitting the wall...with a sickening KRA-CRACK. Nick gasped in horror as her form slid down and he rushed over to her, kneeling down and helping her up. "Sue..." He murmured.

"...heh...**now**...will you go out...with me?" She laughed gently before her eyes closed and she let out a final, long sigh.

"Where the hell...my gem! Where's my gem?!" Nexus snarled, looking around as the competitors surrounded him, keeping him from going any further as best they could.

"HERE!" Myo yelled, holding her wand up as Nexus saw the gem was right in front of her as she stood on a table.

"Oh no..._ohhh no!_ Uh, honey, listen, be **very** careful, that...that gem has a lot of people's SPIRITS in it..." Nexus began to say in a "I'm talking to a little kid" tone.

"You..." Myo shook her head. "You can't just TAKE people and put them in little boxes just because it makes you HAPPY, sir!" She told him, gripping the wand tightly as it glowed brightly with faintly pink power. **"It's ****WROOOOONG****!"** She roared out, bringing the wand down onto the crystal.

Everything went white.

...

...

...

...everyone was now scattered all around the cafeteria. Shojah was lying on top of Black, who coughed and spluttered as the large Vortian got up. Sadi was rubbing her head as Rasmund and Nyrhtak looked over at Vex and Myo. Lox was rubbing his chin thoughtfully as Spork and Miyuki clung tightly to Erin. Everyone that had been dead was now looking on in horror with the others who'd been fighting...

Looking on in horror at Nexus. The one-eyed Irken was now glowing with an enormous, surging, black/red glow. A miasma of overwhelming power was oozing off of him and he curled his clawed fingers slightly, looking down eagerly at his hands, evidently very amused at the new power he had. Caim gasped.

"That aura of power...it's...it's off the charts!"

"It's over 9-" Renee stopped herself, panting and holding her chest.

"Ughhhhh." Reg moaned. "I don't feel so good..." He mumbled.

"What exactly happened?" Nick asked Nora. "I thought breaking that crystal he kept was supposed to defeat Nexus once and for all!"

"Well, the thing is, we DID the plan right." Nora told everyone. "But we weren't fighting Nexus so much as Nexus draining power from the souls of those who died in Blood Sport...with Sue adding her own power to the mix when SHE died."

Sue, now lying back up near Nick, was barely conscious. "Uhhh...a little...off the top...and the sides..." She mumbled.

"Sue, like you..." Nora turned on Nick. "Has a certain amount of power to defy reality. So when her spirit, if only for a few instants, joined with the crystal, it all got screwed up. Instead of absolutely annihilating him by releasing everyone from the crystal, all of the energy they'd been able to keep in their spirits kind of...leaked out when the crystal exploded. And went into him." She added nervously.

"Okay...so..." Kalte frowned slightly. "How do we defeat Nexus then?"

"...er..." Nora gulped.

"Oh by all means, go on." Nexus commented cheerily.

"...see, I had the whole of Irken, human and Vortian knowledge running through my brain, all the weaknesses of all of their kinds. Information on every kind of their species that DOES exist and DOESN'T exist. When it comes to things that couldn't possibly exist even in your wildest acid trips..." She nervously smiled. "I...got nothing."

"So, whatever Nexus is right now...he's freakin' impossible." Gaz asked, raising an eyebrow.

"...preeeetty much." Nora admitted.

"Lovely. We have just given birth to the Antichrist." Darth mumbled.

"Hey, what's the worst he can do? I mean, look at us. He can't possibly hurt us any more than we've already hurt each other in this godforsaken tournament." Lox argued.

Nexus snapped his fingers.

THWOING!

"...uhoh." Myo remarked. Her staff was broken. Everybody's guns and weapons lay shattered on the ground. Darth was holding his head, unseeing eyes wide with horror.

"Oh CRAP, nothing is working but the LIFE SUPPORT." Red whispered, reaching around to feel his PAK.

"I'll deal with this idiot." Gaz snapped, holding up one finger.

POOF.

A small smoke ring flew out from her claw. Gaz blinked a few times, and then a look of pants-pissing fear appeared on her face.

_FEAR. _And this made Dib blanch with horror. Gaz was never afraid.

"...what was that?" Tak asked.

"That was the sound of every single person on this space station dying in five minutes." Gaz squeaked out.

"Oh big schmuck. Ninja boy, do some shinobi arts." Rasmund asked.

Nyrhtak placed his palms together and made the sign of the Tiger. He took a deep breath...then also blew out a smoke ring.

POOF.

"Like she said. The sound of every single person on this space station dying in five minutes. All of our powers are GONE." Nick whispered. "I...I can't feel anything inside of me."

"My aura's completely drained!" Caim complained.

"I...I got nothing either." White realized. "ME! **I'VE** got nothing!"

"Indeed." Nexus looked incredibly amused as he put his hands on his hips. " This really is quite enjoyable." He added, the black/red glow continuing to swirl around him. "I find it immensely amusing that you all thought you actually could beat me. Now look at what your efforts have done. I believe that a human, Theodore Roosevelt, said it best. "Speak softly and carry a big stick. I have just BECOME that stick." Nexus said, clenching his right hand into a fist.

"Good lord, he's worse than YOU are! And that's SAYING something!" Dib told Zim.

"HEY!" Zim snapped, shaking his fist.

"Okay, sunshine!" Nexus laughed, rushing forward at Nick and punching him across the chest into Darth. Red and Purple rushed forward to try and stop him, but he backhanded them across the face, his fist glowing brightly. "Let's get busy!"

"You little!!!" Erin yelled, jumping forward. Nexus kicked her away, laughing sadistically as he turned on Red and Purple.

"I honestly can't think of a morning I didn't wake up with the thought of STRANGLING YOU TO DEATH!" Nexus told the two Tallest with obvious glee on his features as the others watched in horror, too weak or too frightened to move.

"We gotta...stop him..." Nick mumbled.

"By all means, TRY!" Nexus laughed as he held his hands up and dark bands of energy swirled around everyone in his sight, pinning them to the ground one at a time. "Nobody here has the power I have!"

"You leave them alone!" Zim roared out, rushing forward through the air. Nexus laughed and snapped his fingers, one band pinning Zim to the wall as Darth felt around, grabbing ahold of a chair and flinging it through the air at Nexus's ranting form. But the chair barely missed, and Nexus turned on Darth.

"You blind freak. You and that human think you're the savior of all Irkenkind. Well..." He sneered. "I think it's time you both died for your sins-"

THA-BWOOOOOOOOM!

Ember had appeared from the rafters above, recently rejuvenated and now digging a plasma sword into Nexus's back. "JANA!" She yelled out, turning to Jana, who had not yet been pinned. "Help me!"

Understanding, Jana leapt forward and dug her own plasma sword into the front of Nexus's chest. The surge of power between the two blades flowed from one to another, a continuous relay that passed through Nexus, who was already blown up like a gigantic balloon, bloated with energy. His body began to shake and rumble, his single eye widening in horror as cracks began to form in his helmet and his wrist gauntlets.

"What the heck? What's going on?" Zim asked.

"It's a relay loop." Nora realized. "He's already like a water balloon about to pop, this is adding even MORE water to him!"

"I don't believe it!" White laughed, grinning broadly. "He's about to erupt into a brilliant column of light that's going to redistribute all the power he's absorbed! And..." He sighed. "And we're gonna be lucky if we have any skin left when it's all over." He added quietly.

"This...this can't be...I'm...I'm NEXUS, dammit!" Nexus whispered. "I...I can't be beaten by THIS!" He pleaded as his body continued to shudder and quake.

"Oh boy." Erin commented.

"This is gonna hurt." Renee sighed.

_"Our father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name..."_ Mir prayed.

"Yep. You're going to be screwed over by the amateur-hour horseshit of absorbing too much power and exploding." Nick remarked.

"It's gonna be all BAAAAAD." GIR murmured.

"...I've always loved you." Purple told Red, who gave him a "Not NOW" look.

"_**Aw dang**_." Nick mumbled, pinching the space between his head with his fingers.

Blankness.

...everywhere.

...

...

...

...Nick found himself hovering in the white abyss once again as a cloak-and-hooded form sat on a nearby park bench that was hovering by.

"Do you know who I am?" He asked gently.

"No, I...wait..." Nick blinked a few times as the figure lowered it's hood. "...yeah. I do...I know you VERY well."

"The thing is, Nick...it's just not your time. It's NOBODY'S time. This really screwed things up in the grand scheme of things. But you did so much to try and make things right I'm going to give you a free wish. You're the only one I'd absolutely trust with this." Death insisted, placing a furry, white paw upon Nick's shoulder as he hovered by him.

"...there's a price I have to pay...isn't there?" He asked.

"You're the only one who can pay it." Death added sadly. "You wouldn't mind the cost. You end up getting hurt in so many ways and so often, but you endure it all. You just have that strength of soul, that altruism that makes you the force of good that I admire about you."

"Well in this world, being an altruist is the only thing that makes sense." Nick said, shrugging.

Death laughed happily as he held his furry paw out. "THAT'S what I like! So...one free wish in exchange for you paying a certain "price"? Undergoing a certain trial?"

"Fine by me." Nick said, shaking the rabbit/hamster/gerbil thing's hand.

_I have always believed in the potential that people had, a potential that CAN be reached. From another planet I came to Irk, dedicated to doing what was right. I was given a gift that most people don't have, a chance not many would ever get. I'm known as a bleeding-heart fool...but a heroic one all the same. _

"My wish is..."

_It's been a good life._

...

...

...

... "You're sure you're going to be able to make dinner?" Shojah asked of Vex and Savannah as his wife and children sat across from the cafeteria table.

"Absolutely." Vex informed him, nodding his head as Nixus walked over to their table, holding some wine on her serving platter. "We wouldn't miss it for the world!"

"Hope you enjoy this." Nixus said, putting the wine down on their table. "I picked it out myself."

"So, what time do you get off work?" Nyrhtak asked, appearing nearby and giving her a suggestive look. "How about a night out on the town with the latest and hottest Internet sensation?" He asked, flexing his muscles.

"I'd rather just go out with you." Nixus wisecracked, patting him on the head. "To think, this whole place used to be used for THAT..." She said, shaking her head.

"This space station really does work better as a diner." Nyrhtak agreed.

"No, no, you're looking at this all wrong." Rasmund insisted as he pointed down at a newspaper. "See? Look at the blood splatters. This was clearly a crime of PASSION." He told Lox.

"...yes, yes, I see." Lox nodded. He quickly began writing down in a notebook. "This is going to be one hell of a murder mystery, don't you think?" He asked his writing partner.

"Who should we get to direct the movie, that's what I'd like to know." Rasmund wondered, rubbing his chin as Nixus dropped off their drinks.

At the nearby karaoke section, Regulus was belting out a terrible rendition of "More Than A Feeling" as Trik rolled his eyes, sitting ina nearby booth with his family as he raised a glass up and clinked it with Darth's outstretched glass of water.

"Sure you can't stay, Hierophant?" Trik asked. "You're so good with my kids. They LOVE your religious jokes too."

"I can't, sorry." Darth apologized sadly, shaking his head. "This person named Cheese wants me to exorcise a demon from his hair. He said it's come to life and has been trying to attach to his head and get him to kill people. And THEN I've got this big sermon to give at Vort."

"Make sure you thank Rub'akho for the ride." Trik added, nodding his head.

"I'm just glad it's not Ker San. I like him, and Tak likes him, but between you and me...he smells too much like blasting powder." Darth added nervously, nodding his head to the side slightly.

"C'mon, c'mon!" Mir insisted, jumping up and down nearby. "Let's get going!" She urged Darth. "I want to kick demon ass!" She insisted.

"Good to see you getting into your work." Darth told Mir, smiling with pride in her direction and nodding.

"So explain this again." Lard Nar asked as he sat with Renee in a lounge with the rest of the Resisty, as Kalte played against Loc at the nearby pool table.

"Eight ball. Corner pocket." Loc predicted.

CRACK!

"HA!"

"Dang."

"Pay up, bitch!" Loc crowed.

"Well, you see, according to the "New Math", it's more important to understand what you're doing, rather than to get the right answer." She went on. This got a large laugh from Lard Nar, and she smiled.

"I think your appreciation for other cultures is wonderful." Lard Nar told her kindly, putting one hand on her shoulder.

_"YOU'RE wonderful."_ Renee thought to herself, blushing visibly.

"How goes the research, doctors?" Spring inquired of Dr. Keek as she sat across from the two of them in one of the many lounge areas of the enormous space station diner.

"Plenty of funding, lots of advanced technology, and we can work at our own pace. What's NOT to love?" Dr. Keek stated happily.

"I'm working on a way to create a bloodstream made entirely of RED BULL." Dr. Nimbus said proudly.

"Neat." Spring agreed.

"This is the life." Sadi laughed, picking her teeth with a toothpick. "Where are we going next?" She asked Frequency. "Who's our next target."

"I oughta be worried that you're so good at this assassination stuff." Frequency remarked, shrugging. "But anyhow, here." He put down the mission specs on the table they were at. "This guy's been running a slave ring..."

Sadi licked her lips. Evildoers tasted delicious.

"You look lovely today, Tiara." Zergarikiaka said, walking along side her as they headed for the ladies bathroom. "Is that...perfume I smell on you?"

"I've got a hot date tonight." Tiara informed Zerg. "What about you?"

"Ah, I'm worried about my new roommate. I just don't know how to deal with her. She's...**short**." Zerg sighed.

"Get her platform shoes." Tiara advised. "But what do you think of this circlet?" She asked, holding out her wrist. "Does it make my butt look big?"

"Um..." Red bit his lip.

"Come on." Erin insisted, showing off her new pair of bright maroon shorts. "I want an honest opinion."

"...maybe...MAYBE two pounds." He told her nervously.

"**GAAAUUUHHHD**!" She sobbed into Red's arms. "**REDDY!!!**"

"Honey, you said you wanted me to be honest!" Red begged as Purple ordered a scowling, wearing-a-butler's-outfit Black to park the Massive up next to the Space Station.

"But not BRUTAL!" Erin moaned.

"Ah, I just love happy endings." GIR said as he sat in the booth with Chibi as Myo sat nearby, smiling in approval as Zim nodded at Jana, allowing her to sit next to him and Ember as she joined Dib and Tak.

"Miyuki said that she's just arrived with Spork, Felix and the Tallests. Erin'll be here soon." Jana said, nodding firmly at all the others.

"Looks like life is back to normal, then...or as normal as life **gets** around here." Dib thought as he looked over to see Gaz kicking Reg in the shins as revenge for his terrible singing, as somebody turned on the jukebox.

_**BGM: Love Is All Around, by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts**_

"...I wonder where Nick is." Zim admitted, looking down at the table. "...WE were all alright. Everything worked out for us. But...I've no idea where he's gone."

"I dunno if you should be worried." Ember insisted, shaking her head.

"Somebody like Nick...you can't get rid of him no matter how you try. He always pops back up again." Jana mused out loud, a smile spreading across her face.

"Yeah...but where DO you think he's gone?" Tak mused as MIMI looked at her master.

White, leaning against the wall nearby, just smiled. HE knew.

...

...

...

...Nick awoke to the sound of an alarm ringing. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, realizing that he'd fallen asleep in a lounge. A familiar lounge. Blinking a few times, he saw Darth sitting next to him, looking in his direction.

"Have a nice nap? Your wife's waiting for you." Darth informed him.

Nick blinked a few times. "...what...what's the date again?" He asked, a sudden realization of what had just happened hitting him hard.

"It's January 18th." Darth told him, raising an invisible eyebrow. "Come, you were going to talk to your wife about the competitors in Blood Sport, remember?"

So THIS was it.

Nick blinked a few times, then grinned. "Yeah...yeah, I was." He said happily, standing up and walking out of the hallway, past Frequency, who noticed his enormous grin.

"What's up with you? You were all worried just ten minutes ago, dude." Frequency spoke up, walking right behind him. "You said you were gonna take a nap cuz ya had butterflies in your stomach about who you might be fightin' and stuff!"

"Yeah...I did. But I think..." Nick clenched his hand into a fist. "Somehow I got the feeling **nothin's** gonna surprise me."

And with that, he walked off, punching upwards into the air triumphantly, ready to face the new day.

_I have always believed in the potential that people had, a potential that CAN be reached. From another planet I came to Irk, dedicated to doing what was right. I was given a gift that most people don't have, a chance not many would ever get. I'm known as a bleeding-heart fool...but a heroic one all the same. _

_It's gonna be a good, good life. _

_**You're the one most likely to succeed! Just be sure to keep your head...**_

_**Cuz girl, you know, that's all you need! Everyone around adores you...**_

_**Don't give up, the world is waitin' for you!**_

_**Love is all around, no need to waste it!  
You can have the town, why don't you take it?  
You're gonna make it after all!  
**_

_**Who can turn the world on with a smile?  
Who? And suddenly make it all seem worthwhile?  
Well it's you girl, and you should know it...  
With each glance and every little movement you show it!**_

_**Love is all around, no need to waste it!  
You can have the town, why don't you take it?  
You're gonna make it after all,  
You're gonna make it after all!**_

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**I've really enjoyed writing all of this and glad to see so much support has been thrown behind it. I'll also be putting this on my deviantart account for others to enjoy. I'd like to thank a few people for this particular story: Zim's Most Loyal Servant, Shade4716, Fantastic Drone N, ZADRFan29, and, most of all, Erin. Dear, dear Erin...I dedicate this story to you. **

**I love you, Erin. Thank you for all you've done for me. Also, for those of you who can spot the "Easter Eggs" hidden in this story...I give you a cookie.**

**Until we meet again!**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...****Oh, and ****this reminds me. Bruce Banana Loboto, a person with no stories of their own and a webpage link linking him back to Youtube's main site was kind enough to leave a dirty little flame on his story. I angrily blocked him. To my credit, I wrote to him saying that I'd accept his apology for his nasty review and that I didn't mind him leaving constructive criticism as long as he wasn't being so utterly insulting in what he said. **

**And he wrote me back. **

**Actually, no he didn't. He's a troll. He has no favorites of any kind in his account. The whole thing solely seems to exist to blast other people's work on . So I want to just say this. "BBL"...I wish you never WILL "be back later", because you were a jerk and you should still apologize. **

**Well...as I said...until we meet again, folks!  
**


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